Wishing You Were Real
by Ashleo26
Summary: AU/AH Bella and Charlie move to Forks in hopes to start a new life. There Bella meets Edward Cullen; who changes her life forever. The only problem is, he's been dead for three years. NO VAMPIRES.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: ****I have a beta! Or rather 2 betas thanks to the amazing project team beta. I found over at twilighted(dot)net. They fixed all my errors and gave me help with my story. They did an amazing job which I can't thank them enough! =D I'll have a link to their LJ in my profile if you want to check them out.**

**Disclaimer: All Twilight characters are owned by Stephenie Meyer.....**

"What do you think?" Charlie asked.

I looked up at the house. It was white--the same color as our old house. There was a large porch that wrapped around the front of it, and various bushes and flowers. It reminded me of one of those houses that you would see in a home decorating magazine.

I did like it, but I couldn't help the lump that formed in my throat, knowing that this was going to be my new home. My days living in Chicago where all over and now I was going to be living in a town called Forks. Charlie had told me that we were going to be moving for months now. At first I thought that he was just saying that, and that we weren't _actually_ going to move. I think I had been in denial this whole time until this very moment, thinking that at any minute during the ride Charlie was going to change his mind and turn right around. _So much for wishful thinking._

"It's nice," I said, trying to sound enthused, but it didn't really work because he frowned slightly.

"I know it's not home, but I think you will like it here," he said, trying to reassure me, but it was useless. It still wasn't home.

He slammed the car door and went to the trunk to unpack the rest of the boxes that were still left to bring inside. The movers had unloaded almost everything into the house, but Charlie had a few things left--mostly Renee's things. He told me he didn't trust them, and didn't want them to steal anything, which was absurd when I thought about it, because he'd let them haul in the computer and television. I'm sure if they wanted to steal something, it would have been a more expensive item. It wasn't like there was anything valuable in the box, but they were treasures to him and he didn't want to risk losing them, so I could understand.

I reached into the back seat and grabbed a box of my own. It was filled with CDs and a few books that I'd still had lying around in my room. When I entered the front door, I was surprised to find that the house was actually bigger on the inside than it was on the outside. I wondered why Charlie would pick such a big place, considering it was just the two of us.

It must have been written on my face, because he simply shrugged. "I couldn't pass up the deal," he said placing the box onto the kitchen counter.

I followed him and placed my box next to his. "This house was actually in your price range?" We weren't exactly poor, but we certainly weren't rich either. The more that I looked around the house, the more I thought about how much this place must have cost. It didn't look that old, and it was well taken care of. The carpet and kitchen appliances looked brand new and from what I had seen everything was freshly painted as well. The owners before obviously must have loved this place.

"The owner was really eager to get rid of the place. He's been searching for a buyer for awhile, but no one was ever interested." Charlie didn't seem to think too much into it, but I wondered why no one had bought this place when it seemed so good? Also it must have been a reasonable prince since Charlie could afford it.

Charlie had even told me before we got here that the previous owner had offered to help make any repairs if he found anything around the house that needed fixing. He even offered to pay for the repairs. When he'd told me this I thought for sure that the house wouldn't look that great, but nothing seemed to be wrong so far at least. It just seemed too good to be true.

"Why don't you go pick out your room? The bedrooms are upstairs." He tilted his head toward the stair case.

I raised an eyebrow. "Pick a room?"

"There are three bedrooms. Nice huh?" He smiled proudly.

"Uh yeah," I replied as I picked up my box. _This place just has to have a catch._

I made my way upstairs. The first thing that came into view was a window at the top. I walked over to it and saw that I could see the whole backyard. I noticed that there was a swing set and a tire swing all set up in the back.

_Whoever lived here before must have had kids_.

The back yard looked just as taken care of as the rest of the house; the grass was freshly cut and there was even a back porch with a grill. I smiled, thinking that Charlie would have fun cooking on the grill. _Well__, __whenever it__'__s __nice out that is._

I turned to my right and noticed the bedrooms that Charlie was talking about. I made my way to the first room and took a peek inside. It was a large room with tan walls and brown carpeting. As I looked into the room I saw Charlie's dressers already set up, along with his king-sized bed. It seemed that he had already claimed that, so I moved on.

The next room was a little further down. As I entered the room, I cringed when I saw the color. It was a light purple and there were painted white flowers that surrounded the border of the room. I was't much of a girlie-girl and sleeping in a room of flowers just did not sit well with me. Curious though, I entered the room and saw some of my things scattered along the floor. I shook my head, thinking that Charlie probably assumed that I would choose this room. Sometimes I wondered if he knew me at all. Then again, lately I felt like I barely knew myself. If I was going to sleep in this room, I would have to buy some paint. The purple and flowers just had to go. I looked at the closet and was surprised to see that it was a walk-in. I didn't even have enough clothes to fill half of it.

I walked out of the room and made my way past the bathroom, which was conveniently next to the following room. It was straight down the hallway. I walked inside, my feet stomping onto the wood floor. Unlike the rest of the house this room seemed slightly older. The floors weren't brand new and were worn from the furniture being moved. The paint was an off-white and seemed to be chipping in some spots. I wondered why, out of all the rooms, did the owners leave this one the way it was? I liked it though; it gave that lived in feel and reminded me of my old room actually. It was larger than my old room, but the wood floor and the color of the walls were the same. What I really liked about it was that it had a window seat. I'd always wanted one, but my old room window was far too small, and there was too little space to make one.

I saw that my bed had already been moved in here, so I tossed the box onto the mattress. I would have to go back into the purple room later and get my remaining boxes. Since Charlie had put my bed in this room it showed that maybe he did know me after all.

I went over to the window and knelt down, looking out. I had a perfect view of the front yard. I looked toward the driveway and saw that Charlie was talking to someone with long black hair who was in a wheelchair._ That had to be Billy_. Charlie had told me about him on the drive here. They were childhood friends and had grown up together. Charlie seemed really enthused about what ever they were talking about because he was gesturing his hands wildly in the air. They both threw their heads back and laughed.

I tore my gaze from them and noticed something behind the tree in the front yard. I squinted my eyes and saw that it was a person; he slowly stepped out from the tree and seemed to be looking at Charlie and Billy.

It looked like a boy that was about my age with an odd hair color. Brown? Red? Bronze maybe? I looked closely at him. He wore a simple black T-shirt with dark faded jeans. From a distance he didn't seem bad looking, but I couldn't make out too many details. I couldn't take my eyes off of him though. There was just something about him that struck me as odd. I guess it was logical considering the fact that he was just standing there staring at Charlie and Billy for no apparent reason. _Maybe he knows Billy?_

Suddenly his gaze left Charlie and he looked up toward me. I looked at him, trying to take in his features. From head on he was definitely good looking, but what was he doing just standing there in my front yard? It took me awhile to realize that I was staring at a complete stranger, and he was looking right back at me. I ducked out of the window as discretely and as quickly as possible, but I'm sure it was too obvious.

I clasped my head in my hands groaning to myself. _Nice going Bella__,__ just stare at random people. That__'__s not weird._

"Bells, can you come here for a sec?" I heard Charlie yell from downstairs. "I want you to meet someone."

I went downstairs and saw Charlie standing outside of the front door. I smiled at him and followed him outside where Billy was.

"Bells, I'd like you to meet Billy Black," he introduced. "Billy and I grew up together when we were younger."

"Nice to meet you." He reached his hand out toward me and I took it shaking it.

"Nice to meet you too," I replied timidly. I was painfully shy around new people and I couldn't help the scarlet color that stained my cheeks as I stood there, embarrassed by how awkward I was.

I took this chance to look past Billy to see if the boy I had seen earlier was there, but when I looked up he was gone. I felt a pang of disappointment. I was hoping I might have gotten a better look at him. _Guess he must have left._

"Charlie hasn't shut up about you since I showed up. It seems you are quite the artist," said Billy snapping me out of my thoughts.

I nodded, not sure what I should say to that. Sure I used to draw, but I hadn't done anything in the last three years and I hadn't planned on doing any more, despite Charlie buying me countless pads of paper and paint. It was just something that I didn't have a passion for presently. It just seemed pointless now I suppose.

"Yeah, her old teachers said she really had a talent. Said she could probably put those art snobs in New York to shame," Charlie chuckled. He got it wrong...my teachers never said that. Renee was the one that always went on and on about how she thought my art was so much better than anything she had ever seen. I knew it was just a mom thing and she was just trying to show how proud she was of me. I didn't think of correcting Charlie about it though; when it came to Renee it was best just not to say anything.

"Well I would love to see your art work some time," said Billy.

I cringed, but tried to seem flattered. "Yeah, that'd be cool." I had no intention of showing him.

I didn't like showing anyone my artwork. It was like a personal journal to me; something that I wanted to keep to myself and only myself.

"How do you like the new house? Everything all right?" Billy was looking at Charlie. Relief washed over me at the subject change. I hated talking about myself.

"Yeah, so far everything is perfect." Charlie looked at the house. "I still can't believe on the deal I got. It's a shame the guy had to give up this place."

"Well, ever since the accident, Carlisle and his family have been wanting to get rid of it. Reminds them of old memories."

Charlie nodded sympathetically.

"The doc's son died about three years ago. No one really knows what happened. Carlisle and his family keep to themselves most of the time. He was about Bella's age when it happened...I know that much. Ever since their son died, they haven't been back. They used to come here every so often and stay for a couple of weeks," said Billy. "He told me he just didn't want to deal with keeping up with the place any longer since they weren't planning on ever coming back here." There was sadness in his eyes. "It's quite a shame really he was only a kid. His son never got into any trouble and from what I heard he was very bright. He was going to follow in his father's foot steps and become a doctor."

"It's a shame to lose people so suddenly." Charlie's voice was low. Even though his face remained emotionless, I knew that on the inside he was thinking of Renee and how we too were dealing with loss. I could understand why Carlisle and his family had wanted to get rid of their house. After all, it was the reason why we had left ours, but it was still heartbreaking to hear about someone else who was going through the same thing.

Billy must have known he had touched on a sore subject, he tried to quickly recover. "I'm sorry...I for--"

Charlie held up his hand. "It's alright, no need to apologize." One thing I noticed since Renee's death was that he didn't like to talk about it.

"So about that truck you got for Bells?"

"Truck?" I looked at him, confused.

Billy nodded, smiling. "My son Jacob just got done fixing up an old Chevy. Your dad here told me that you don't have a car. I thought since you will be needing a car to get around you might as well take it."

"His son is going to drop it off tomorrow when he gets out of school," Charlie added.

I was excited and happy to get a car, but I didn't want anyone giving me anything for free. "Really? I mean you don't need--"

"No, no it's yours," said Billy interrupting me. "I already told your dad before you even got here I'd give it to you."

Charlie simply smiled at me.

"Um thanks," I replied, trying to seem grateful. Once again my enthusiasm fell flat.

Billy just laughed. "Don't worry kiddo it's nothing special. It's just something to get you around town. Don't thank me till you've actually seen it."

_Does that mean its a piece of junk? _Of course I wasn't going to say that out loud, so I settled on not saying anything and smiled.

Charlie and Billy stood there talking for I don't know how long about old memories of when they were kids and all the trouble that my dad used to get into. I was actually kind of surprised. I never could actually picture Charlie getting in trouble with the law, seeing as how he had been a police officer for as long as I could remember and now he was chief of police in Forks.

I didn't say much the whole time and just let them talk, I stood there and listened. It was nice seeing Charlie smiling and laughing. He rarely smiled anymore. I didn't either.

When Billy finally left, I made Charlie and I something to eat for dinner. It was nothing special considering we had yet to go to the grocery store, but I did get to use the new stove a bit.

Afterwards I went up stairs and unpacked the rest of my things. It was mostly clothes that I would need for school tomorrow and a few supplies. I groaned thinking that I would have to go school tomorrow. I had almost forgotten until now.

_Maybe if I tell Charlie that I need a day to adjust to the move he will let me stay home?_

He probably would too.

_No, its best just to get it over with._

The last thing I wanted to be thinking about was school and now that I was done unpacking and ready to go to sleep that's all I could think about. I hated school and I knew Forks would be no different.

At my old school I had no friends and everyone avoided me like the plague. Seriously, when I walked in the hallway it was like I was Moses and I was parting the red sea or something. I told myself over and over again that I didn't care what they thought of me or that I didn't have any friends, but I knew I was lying to myself. I did care what they thought of me and most of all I hated being alone, but ever since the car accident I just can't couldn't be around people. I mean I did have friends before, people I would talk to once and awhile, but ever since the accident, I didn't have anyone.

Lately everything has felt pointless to me. I think the only reason why I haven't killed myself is because one, I am afraid of death and two, I couldn't do that to Charlie. I was the only thing he had left now and I wouldn't leave him alone.

I was almost done unpacking aside from a box that I had saved for last. Just like Charlie, I also had a box with a few of Renee's things. I wasn't as attached to mine as he was. I hadn't even looked inside of it since we cleaned out her things and had no intention of looking inside of it ever again. I picked it up and walked over to the closet. It wasn't a walk in closet, like the purple room, but was still fairly large. I knew I would probably have trouble filling up this one as well.

I took the box and shoved it on the very top shelf. I had to stand on my tip toes to get the box up there. I stumbled a bit, but quickly caught myself. _Out of sight out of mind right?_

I sighed and shut off all the lights and made my way to bed. The last thing that I wanted to think about was Renee before I went to bed. I tried to clear my head, thinking of anything other then her.

When I had finally drifted off to sleep only to be woken up at least an hour later. My first thought was that Charlie must have left the television on downstairs and he must have left it on pretty loud too because I could hear it clearly. It was amazing the things that he could sleep through. I swear the house could be on fire during an earth quake and he still wouldn't wake up.

"She just had to move into my room. Out of all the rooms, why mine?" groaned a male voice.

I tossed in bed and placed my pillow over my head thinking that maybe I could drown out the sound. I didn't want to go downstairs and shut off the television, not when I had finally gotten to sleep.

"What's wrong sleepy head, having trouble sleeping?" I heard feet shuffling and it sounded as though it was coming from my room. I froze.

_Was there someone __i__n__ my room? _

Part of me was convinced that I must be dreaming and that it was all in my head, but the other part of me was screaming for me to take a look to see if someone was really in my room. I decided it was best just to check and see, so I could go back to sleep.

I then heard more shuffling of feet and what sounded like...humming?

_Oh my god! There is someone in here._

_There' s someone in here!_

_What do I do?_

My heart was hammering in my chest. Suddenly the humming stopped and I felt a presence hovering over me. I shut my eyes tightly, thinking like a little kid. "If I can't see you, you can't see me."

It was stupid, but I couldn't think of anything else to do. Should I scream? What if they have a knife or a gun?

The bed shifted slightly and I froze, petrified with fear. I felt their bereath on my cheek and my heart instantly stopped. I couldn't take it anymore. There was no way that I could just lay here and pretend to be sleeping. I snapped my eyes open and sure enough right in front of me was a pair of wide eyes staring straight at me. All I could think was to do was to scream as loud as I possibly could to wake Charlie up and that's exactly what I did. I clutched my blanket tightly to me and screamed as loud as I could, pushing myself up against the wall furthest away from the man.

He stumbled back and placed his hands over his ears. He hunched over wincing. "Goddamn, what is your problem?!"

"What are you doing in my room!?" I shouted back. My body was shaking and my heart was literally in my throat. I had never been this scared in my entire life. The man seemed to stiffen when I shouted at him. He rose up looking at me, but I couldn't make out his face, it was covered in shadows. How the hell did he get in my room and who was he?

Suddenly my bedroom door burst open and Charlie was standing in the doorway with his shot gun in hand. Apparently, my screaming was enough to wake him up. I'm sure I probably woke up the whole neighborhood, I was screaming so loud.

The light from the hallway shined through the doorway. "Bella?" he asked worried. "Bella, are you alright?" He flicked on the bedroom light. He held the gun tightly, looking at me for an explanation.

I pointed to where the man had been standing. "There's someone in my-" But when I looked the he was gone. I frantically looked around the room. _Where did he go? He couldn't__ have __just disappeared._

"There was someone in here?" Charlie's voice rose with anger. He looked around. "Where did he go?"

"I don't know, but I swear someone was just in here," I said slowly. _I'm pretty sure there was someone in here... I think._

He went to the window and jiggled it a bit seeing that it was securely locked. He then went and looked in my closet and even under my bed.

"Nothing?" I kind of hoped that he'd find something and that I wasn't crazy, but the other part of me didn't even want to think that there was a possibility that someone might have actually been in the room with me.

"I don't see anything." He was relaxed now and held his gun to his side. He looked to me, frowning. He opened his mouth to say something, but quickly shut it, hesitating. I knew what was coming and I didn't like it one bit.

"Are you having nightmares again?" he finally asked.

I shook my head frantically. "No, I haven't had those in awhile." Even if I did I would never tell him. There was no way that I was going to go to a psychiatrist ever again.

"Do you think maybe with the move..."

"Dad, I'm fine. It was just a nightmare." His eyes widened. _Bad choice of words_. "A regular nightmare. I mean... I'm just stressed because I have to go to school tomorrow."

His frown didn't go away."If it'll make you feel any better you can stay home tomorrow. I don't see why not, we just moved in. I'll call the school in the morning if you want me to."

As much as I wanted him to I had to disagree. Charlie would probably call off work tomorrow to make sure that I was okay. As much as I liked Charlie it was best to keep our distance. "No, I'll go. Really, I'm fine." I tried to reassure him, but he didn't seem convinced.

"Are you sure? It's no big deal." He rubbed the back of his neck. Probably not sure how to go about all this emotional stuff. I too didn't know how to deal with it and I didn't like where this was going. I could see it in the way he was looking at me. He thought I needed therapy again.

"Really, I'm fine. Honestly it wasn't a nightmare," I replied.

He gave a sigh, seemingly giving up on debating the subject with me any further. "Alright then, good night, Bells." He hesitantly left the room.

"Good night," I called after him.

When he was gone I took a deep breathe trying to calm my nerves. Maybe it was just stress? I had been freaking out about going to school in the morning, so maybe my mind was just playing tricks on me. Stress can do strange things to you or so I've heard. Are hallucinations a part of stress?

_Great__,__ and now I am crazy!_

Even if someone had been in my room, it would have been physically impossible for them to run out of the room when Charlie came barging in, he would have seen him. The window was locked and there was no sign that it had even been opened before for him to crawl in. Not to mention that I was on the second floor and there was no tree or gutter for them to climb up on. It had to be all in my head, it just had to be. Unless the house was haunted, which was ridiculous because ghosts weren't real.

I just hoped that it wasn't a nightmare like Charlie had thought. If it was, it was unlike any other nightmares that I have had before. Normally, I would wake up sweating and trying to catch my breath; not imagining some guy standing in my room.

I sighed and sat back down on my bed pulling the blankets over me tightly. There was no way that I was going to be able to go back to sleep. I glanced at the clock and saw that it was three in the morning.

_This __was __going to be a long night._

**So that was the begining... Tell me what you think.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: okay so here is Chapter 2 reworked. Thanks sooo much to Team beta! They really helped me alot!**

**Disclaimer: All twilight charaters are owned by Stephenie Meyer.**

Just as I thought, I didn't get any sleep whatsoever. I was far too paranoid thinking someone was going to show up in my room any second. I heard Charlie leave about two hours before I had to get up. I decided that I would make myself something to eat since I had so much time before school.

I quickly showered and brushed my teeth. I pulled out the clothes that I had picked out yesterday. It was a plain green t-shirt , some old jeans that were slightly worn and a black hoodie. I didn't take my time to put on makeup or pick out the perfect first day of school outfit. When I dressed it was for comfort.

I looked in the mirror when I was done. My face was pale and I had purple bags under my eyes from lack of sleep. _I'm a mess_ _. _I never thought of myself as ugly, but I never thought I was pretty either. Looking at myself now though, I felt my self esteem sinking all the more. My hair was a dull brown and I had brown eyes to match. I brushed my hair as best I could, trying to make myself look somewhat decent. I was never one to wear makeup. Even when Renee was alive. She insisted in the mornings before school that I should put a little more effort into my appearance. She would buy me clothes for school, insisting that I should look more like an actual girl. She even did my hair a few times before school. I always complained saying it was pointless and stupid, but I would humor her and let her do whatever she wanted.

Looking at myself now I wished Renee was here more than ever. She would know exactly what to say to cheer me up. She'd tell me I was worrying far too much and that I needed to relax and just be myself.

But I wasn't even sure who I really was anymore. I felt like a zombie, just going through life and not really experiencing anything. I hid in my room most of the time. What kind of a life was that?

I shook my head trying to clear my head of all the depressing thoughts. I was already having a bad day and I hadn't even gone to school yet.

When I was downstairs I made myself a bowl of cereal. I was too tired to make anything else.

I looked at the clock and saw that I had at least an hour to get to school. I was going to have to walk to and from school today. Charlie had pointed out the school on the way here and it wasn't really that far. In fact, if it wasn't for all the rain and unpredictable weather I would have probably walked to school every day.

I felt my stomach tie in knots thinking about going to school. I wanted to run to the bathroom and throw up, my stomach was turning so bad. _Maybe I could take Charlie up on his offer?_

I could call him at work and tell him that I decided that I wanted to stay home for the day, but then he would probably come rushing home thinking that something was wrong. I didn't want to worry him any more than I already had. Last night's little scare was enough for now. I hated being a burden to him.

With one last bite of my cereal I knew that I should be leaving soon. I couldn't sit here forever. O_ff to my own personal hell. _

I grabbed my umbrella, just in case it began to rain on me on the way home, and headed out the door.

It only took me about twenty minutes to get to the school. Glancing at my watch and saw that I was early. _Great, I_ _was going to be stuck in a school wondering around the halls looking like an idiot._

I made my way to the office where it was empty aside from a middle aged woman sitting at the desk. I dragged myself over to her, telling myself that I needed to get this over and done with.

"Um, excuse me," I said weakly. My voice was low and probably far too low for her to hear. The woman kept on shuffling the papers in front of her, not even glancing up at me. I cleared my throat and spoke louder. "Excuse me?"

She snapped her head up, with a bright smile. "Yes, dear, how can I help you?"

"Uh, yes," I said. "I'm new. I came to get my schedule."

"Are you Isabella Swan?"

I wondered how she knew who I was, but I didn't say anything and just nodded my head.

"I heard your father is the new chief of police," she explained. "You know, I grew up with your dad ."

I just nodded and smiled, not sure if I was suppose to respond or not. I just wanted my schedule and to leave as soon as possible. I didn't like small talk.

"I'm Mrs. Cope, by the way," she said, smiling brightly. "My, you look just like your mother." I got that a lot from people, but recently I didn't like being reminded of it.

"I went to school with her and your father," she went on. "The two of them were so sweet together. It's really a shame what happened to her." She shook her head, her face reflecting that familiar look of pity.

I had gotten that look a lot since my mother died. I really hated that look.

"I'm so sorry," Mrs. Cope continued. "I still can't believe what happened. It must have been so hard for you considering you were--"

"Can I have my schedule now?" I cut in, my voice harsh. I didn't like talking about it and I certainly wasn't going to stand here on my first day of school listening to someone tell me how sorry they were and how they could sympathize, like they understood what it was like. She didn't; no one really did and I didn't want to think about it now. I had enough on my mind and I didn't want to deal with this as well.

Isn't this why we moved, to get away from these reminders?

The woman seemed offended that I had cut her off, but honestly, who says things like that when first meeting someone? What happened to talking about the weather?

She pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to me. "Here you go, dear." She gave a half smile. "Have a nice day."

I walked out of the office looking down at my schedule.

As I opened up the door I rammed right into someone. I stumbled back and caught myself against the wall.

"I am so sorry!" I said automatically. _This day was just getting better and better._

I heard a chuckle. "It's all right." He bent down and picked up his book.

I looked up to see a boy with blond, spiky hair.

"Are you new?" he asked.

"Uh, yeah, I just moved here. My name is--"

"Isabella Swan," he interrupted me.

I raised a brow. "Bella," I corrected him. "Does everyone know me around here?"

The blond boy smiled. "It's a small town," he explained. "People talk."

I wasn't sure if I liked that. It was kind of weird, people knowing my name already.

"Word gets around here fast," he said. "I heard your dad is the new police chief."

"Yeah." I nodded, once again unsure what to say. _Why can't I just talk like a normal person?_

"My name is Mike Newton by the way." He smiled brightly. "If you would like I can show you around."

I was slightly relieved that someone would show me around, so I wouldn't get lost, but that meant that he would walk with me, which would require me talking. Panic swelled inside me thinking about it, but I pushed it away as best I could.

"Sure, that'd be nice." I tried to show my gratitude by smiling. Mike smiled even brighter.

Walking with him wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. He talked about himself, which I was perfectly fine with. It was mostly about himself and bragging about how he was the quarterback for the football team. I don't really remember much else he said because I had tuned him out. I only paid attention when he told me where each classroom was and the shortest routes to each one.

As we walked in the hallway everyone seemed to be staring at me. I already hated this school. I loathed being the center of attention.

"--and then I came running out of nowhere. The other team was totally caught off guard. Impressive huh?" Mike beamed.

I missed everything he was saying and suddenly felt guilty. _Great Bella, the first person who is actually nice to you and you ignore him._ "Yeah." I nodded smiling, hoping that was the right answer.

Once again a big wide, smile crossed his lips. _Can someone have that many teeth?_

He moved on to the next subject and began talking about how much he hated Mr. Banner's class last year. I decided it was probably best that I listen to the rest of the conversation. Maybe I could _try_ to have some friends here.

It wasn't long before the bell rang.

Mike walked me to my first class and said that he would meet me outside right after to walk me to my next class. I wondered if everyone in Forks was this overly nice. I already felt a little crowded.

For the most part my classes weren't too bad. It turned out that I was ahead in a lot of the lessons, so I really didn't need to catch up too much. I met a few people and unfortunately everyone seemed to be like Mike. They all crowded around me, asking me questions about where I used to live and what it was like. I knew they were only curious and were trying to be nice, but I couldn't help, but cringe every time someone would call my name and start talking to me.

I met Jessica; she seemed like a typical high school girl. She was in my US History class. She loved fashion and talking about the latest celebrity gossip, and seemed overly concerned that Mike was being nice to me. She asked if he had mentioned anything about her. When I told her no, she frowned, but quickly recovered, talking about the last party that she had been to and how she had gotten so hammered that she ended up waking up in the backseat of some random guy's car. _Does that mean she was proud of herself? _Apparently, because she had a big goofy grin on her face and said, as she put it, "he was totally hot."

When lunch time rolled around Jessica offered to let me sit with her and her friends. Once again I panicked, but I pushed it away, telling myself it wouldn't be that bad. I was just thinking too much about it. I told her yes and gave her the best smile I could muster.

_Nothing is bad about asking questions right? That's how people get to know each other. _

_So why am I freaking out?_

At the table sat Angela, a girl in my English class. She was friendly and seemed like the only one in the whole group that I thought was genuinely nice, where as Jessica seemed to be only buttering up to me because Mike was showing me a little attention.

"Hey, Bella, why don't you sit next to me?" Mike pulled out a chair next to him. He was smiling like always. _Maybe he should do a Colgate commercial?_

I returned his smile half-heartedly and took the seat even though Jessica was glaring at me from across the table. I didn't want to be rude and tell him no--and to be honest I didn't have enough backbone to tell him. I was such a coward.

"Where are you from again?" asked Jessica, stabbing her salad with her fork. She tried to put on a sweet smile, though it was anything but sweet.

"Chicago."

I noticed Mike seemed awfully close to me, so I backed up a little.

"Why did you and your dad move here?"

I felt all eyes narrow in on me in that moment. _It's an innocent question. They probably don't know._

Should I lie or tell the truth? I hated the truth, so I settled on the lie. "Well...Charlie wanted the job as police chief and he told me he always wanted to move back if given the chance. So we just decided to move." It seemed like a reasonable enough answer. At least to me: Charlie never really liked Chicago in the first place. He was more of a small town kind of guy.

Everyone seemed to believe the answer because they didn't say anything else about it. Jessica continued her twenty questions about my old school, my hobbies and friends. It wasn't a very long conversation. I gave one word answers and fibbed a little bit here and there. I didn't want to seem like a total loser, even though I was. I named a few friends that I had once had. I haven't talked to them in years so I wouldn't consider them friends anymore, but they didn't need to know that.

I was never a really good liar. I blushed far too easily and my guilty face always gave it away, but right now I wasn't doing too badly.

"So, any boyfriends in Chicago?" asked Jessica eagerly. She glanced at Mike who I noticed seemed be leaning toward me once again.

"No."

She raised an eyebrow. "Have you ever had one?"

"Um, no." I shook my head. My cheeks flushed as I realized what I had just said. _Why couldn't I just lie and make up some random boy! I was doing so well_ _before._

Lauran began giggling and whispered something to Jessica.I could have sworn I heard the words, 'bet' and 'virgin'. I wanted to crawl in a hole and die right then and there. I sank slowly in my seat praying that the bell would ring soon and save me.

Was it really such a big deal that an eighteen year old girl had never had a boyfriend before? I never knew one who hadn't, but still, there had to be someone besides me that never had. I just never really took an interest in boys and in the last two years I was just too busy being locked in my room and refusing to socialize with people to really care about having one.

I shouldn't have sat over here. I should have told her no and sat by myself, then I wouldn't have had to deal with this. _I hate high school._

"Boys are jerks anyway," Jessica said suddenly. "All they do is cause you problems. Take Mike, for instance."

"What about me?" he said, sitting up straight.

"Wasn't it you who dumped Maria in front of the whole school last year and just left her crying?" Angela asked.

"That was kind of funny," snickered Lauren.

"Hey, she wouldn't leave me alone," he said defensively. "You saw her--she was all clinging and shit. You remember, Tyler." He nudged the boy next to him.

"Oh no, you were a total jerk to her," Tyler laughed. "You ordered her around all over the place and claimed you were so in love with her and the next day dumped her! I've never seen anything so sad." He shook his head in disgust.

"See, jerk!" laughed Jessica.

Everyone at the table then turned their attention to Mike and talked about how badly he had treated his ex-girlfriends. Mike didn't seemed happy about it because he just sat there pouting and yelling at everyone to shut up.

When lunch was over Angela waited for me to gather my things. "What class do you have next?"

I pulled out my schedule to look, having already forgotten what I had next. When I pulled it out and saw what it was my stomach twisted.

"Is something wrong?" Angela moved over beside me to glance at my schedule. She smiled brightly. "You have art with Mrs. Davis. So do I!"

"Yeah," I replied. "That's great." I tried to smile, but I knew my face showed that it wasn't great. If anything it was the exact opposite.

"What's the matter?" Angela asked. "Don't like art?"

"Umm, no, that's not it."

Should I tell her the truth? She was the only one in the whole school that I genuinely liked. I guessed it wouldn't hurt. "I used to really like it," I said, "but ever since my mom died I haven't really been interested." I watched her carefully, waiting for her to look at me with some sort of pity. When she didn't I continued. "It was just something she always encouraged me to do, so I don't know." I shrugged. "I just don't like it anymore, I guess."

Angela simply nodded. "Well, if you really don't want to go to it, you could always get it changed. I heard Mr. Banner has a study hall that period."

"Really?" I said hopefully. I didn't really like having a study hall. I thought that I should have a full schedule. It would look good on my college applications, but then again, I didn't want to sit there in class and be painfully reminded of the life I no longer had.

Renee would never see my artwork again no matter how much I drew or painted.

Angela bit her lip and looked toward the classroom door. "But you probably won't be able to get it changed for about a week. The office is stupid like that. They take their time with everything."

My heart sank, I tried to seem like it was no big deal. "I guess it'll be fine for a week."

She smiled. "Don't worry, I'll be there to keep you company."

I smiled and followed her inside the art room.

Art wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. It seemed the class was doing your typical still life. Drawing various objects that were arranged on the table in front of us . I started my drawing half-heartedly, not putting any real effort in it. _What was the point when I was going to drop out of this class anyway? _

Angela talked most of the time, telling me about this Ben guy that she liked. She asked for my advice on what she should do, and I tried to give her the best advice I could think of, but I was probably the last person she should ask for advice about boys. After all, what the heck did I know? I had never even kissed a guy--how pathetic was that?

When school was over I had to go back down to the dreaded office and once again face Mrs. Cope. This time she kept her comments to herself and just went straight to adjusting my schedule. She stuck to talking about the weather.

I was kind of disappointed that I wouldn't have a class with Angela anymore. I really did have fun.

_Maybe being in art wouldn't be so bad. I do kind of miss it. _I shook the thought away_. No, I gave it up._

Walking home was a little bit of a pain. I watched as all the cars pulled out of the parking lot while I was one of the _very _few that was actually walking home. It was drizzling a little and I was glad I had brought my umbrella.

I pulled my Ipod from my pocket and selected my favorite play list. It would help the walk go faster and get my mind off of things. I walked alongside of the road humming along to the songs until I finally reached the house--I mean _my _house. It was weird looking at it from the outside. It didn't seem real that I could be living here.

The rain stopped and I closed my umbrella.

I walked up to the house and pulled my house key out of my pocket and shoved my Ipod back in. I was just about to put the key in the lock when I heard a voice.

"Hello."

I jumped back and gave an embarrassing squeal as I turned on my heel, spinning around. I put my hand to my heart. "Jesus Chri--" I stopped when I saw who it was.

Standing in front of me was the guy I had seen standing in my front yard yesterday. He was dressed in the same clothes, which I should have found odd, but I couldn't even think at this point. His hair was a bronze color, and looked like he had run his hand through it one too many times. His skin was pale, but not quite as pale as mine. He was lean, yet through his t-shirt you could tell he did have some muscles. His eyes were what really got me, because they were the most perfect shade of emerald green I had ever seen.

"Uh...sorry," I said. "You scared me." My voice was low and slightly shaky. I blushed realizing that I must have looked like an idiot just now.

His eyes widened slightly. "You can see me?"

"Uh, yes?" _What kind of question was that?_

He didn't answer me and just frowned.

"C-can I help you with something?" I stuttered. _Great, Bella, you are making yourself seem so smart right now._

"Why is it that you can see me?"

_How was I supposed to answer that? _"I don't think I understand," I said slowly. I wanted him to explain more but he seemed to be thinking something over in his head. He was just standing here in front of me not saying much of anything and it was driving me crazy. _Who just stands there?_

Slowly a smile curved his lips and my breath hitched. With his frown gone, I noticed that his smile made him look even more perfect, if that was possible.

"I wonder if..." he mumbled, letting the sentence hang.

"What?" I asked. I found myself very eager to know what he going to say next. I even stepped closer to him wanting him to speak more. _Wonder what? _I watched as his mouth opened to say something.

"Bella?" That didn't sound like his voice. "Hello, earth to Bella?"

I turned my head to see another boy. He was tan with jet short jet black hair. "Hey," he said when I met his gaze. "Who were you talking to?"

"I was talking to--" I turned my head toward the bronze haired boy only to find that he was gone. I scanned the yard to see where he had gone to, but there was no trace of him whatsoever. "You've got to be kidding me," I mumbled.

"Everything all right?" He looked at me like I was crazy. _I was beginning to think I was._

"Yeah, uh, sorry," I replied. "I was just talking to myself...I guess." I rubbed my eyes as if that would clear up my vision. _Was my mind playing tricks on me again or something? Maybe it was the lack of sleep? _If it was all in my head, my mind had an amazing imagination. He had seemed so real.

I turned my attention back to the boy, wondering what he was doing here and if he also was going to disappear into thin air. For now he still seemed to be standing there.

"I came to drop off your truck," he pointed behind him.

"My truck?" I asked confused.

"Yeah, my dad told you I was coming didn't he? I was supposed to come here after school and drop it off for you."

"Oh yeah! I'm sorry, you're Billy's son! Charlie told me you were coming over. Jacob, right?" I stepped down from the porch and stood closer to him.

He nodded, smiling.

I remembered Charlie telling me about him yesterday over dinner. He was Billy's son who was a year younger than me.

I looked behind him and there sitting in the driveway was an old, red, beat-up pickup truck. "That's it?" I asked, walking toward it.

Jacob blushed and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Yeah, I know it's not much, but trust me it runs just fine. I fixed it up myself, so you shouldn't have any problems."

I looked it over, seeing the faded red paint had turned slightly orange. It was huge, and I knew this thing would probably crush anything that got in its way. I couldn't believe that this was actually going to be my car.

"It's all right if you don't like it," said Jacob. "I promise I won't tell my dad."

"You can tell him I love it." I turned toward him with a smile. "I absolutely love it!"

"You like it?" he seemed surprised.

"Well, yeah." I smiled, looking over at the car once again.

He smiled and blushed. He lifted his hand toward the truck. "Well, I didn't think you would actually like it. I mean it's not like anything that anyone is driving nowadays."

"Which is why I love it. It' s unique. Well, more like an antique." I shrugged.

Jacob laughed. "You really like it?"

"Yes, I really like it." Was it really that hard to believe? I knew it wasn't exactly what people were driving. I don't think I have ever seen a car this old that could actually run, but if Jacob said it would run then I believed him.

I opened the car door. "You need a ride home, don't you?" I looked back at him.

"Uh, yeah, if you don't mind?" He placed his hands in his pockets.

I shook my head. "Not at all. After all, you fixed up my truck. I more than owe you. Plus it'll give me a chance to test drive it." Now I wouldn't be one of the few that were walking to school.

Jacob seemed really shy and humble. It was nice to see that I had met at least two people here in Forks that were genuine. Maybe this move wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

Jacob got into the passenger seat and handed me the keys. As I put the keys in the ignition I looked over at him just to make sure that he was still there. Maybe this was all in my head, too? This, after all, seemed just as real as when I had been hallucinating. I could have made up Jake and this truck as well. First I see a guy in my bedroom and then someone just standing there in front of me. Maybe I was going crazy?

"Is something wrong?" Jacob asked looking at me worried.

"No, I'm fine." I started up the car. "Just making sure of something."

He raised a brow wanting me to explain, but I just waved my hand at him. "It's nothing."

As I drove away from the house, I glanced at the rear view mirror. I could have sworn I saw someone standing in the middle of the road watching me.

**A/N: Soo good? bad? **

**I am working on chapter 3.... Edward makes more of an appearance.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: All Twilight Charaters are owned by Stephenie Meyer.**

**-**

**-----**

"How do you like Forks so far?" asked Mike.

"I like it," I shrugged.

"Well, don't sound too enthused," Lauren said sarcastically.

"Yeah, Bella, if you don't like it here you can just say it, you know," said Jessica, agreeing with her.

"I meant it… I like it here. " I tried to sound more convincing, but I knew no matter what I said they wouldn't believe me.

Jessica just rolled her eyes and muttered, "Whatever."

For the rest of lunch I didn't utter a word and just kept to myself. I only nodded and smiled every time Mike addressed me, but for most of the time, I just kept to myself. This was how lunch had progressed over the last couple of weeks I had been at school.

The topic of me had ended quickly and they had moved on to what they thought were much more interesting topics, such as parties or the latest couples that had broken up throughout school. I didn't mind in the slightest. They could talk about whatever they wanted as long as it wasn't about me.

Angela and I hadn't grown any closer since the first day of school. I guess you could blame that on me . Every time she would ask me to do something after school I always made up some sort of excuse about how I had too much homework or that Charlie didn't want me going out that night. She didn't press me for more information about it. After a couple of days though she got the message that I didn't want to do anything.

It wasn't anything personal; I just figured I was saving her the trouble. I was boring. There was nothing for me to talk about and I felt so awkward around people. I would just rather avoid it all together and stay in my room.

I know it's not healthy to avoid people. I had gotten the same lecture from my therapist back in Chicago countless times, about how I shouldn't shut myself in all the time.

I didn't care. I didn't want to be around people. It was just easier this way.

Mike asked me once to a party and a mental image of me standing in a corner while a bunch of drunken idiots making fools of themselves, flashed through my head, and was enough to make me cringe. There was no way that I was going to be able to stand the public humiliation.

"Are you always this boring?" said Lauren.

I shrugged, not sure what to say. _God, I was really hating sitting at this table. _

Every time Lauren or Jessica made a comment, I just wanted to crawl on the floor and die or just leap across the table and rip out their hair. Unfortunately, I was leaning more towards the crawling on the floor and dying most of the time.

_Way to have a backbone, Bella._

"It's alright Bella, I don't go to many parties either," said Angela.

"Yeah, but you do go to some!" Lauren pointed out. "Bella here, it sounds like all she does is stay in her room all day and do homework."

"I know really!" agreed Jessica.

I wanted to defend myself and tell her she was wrong, but I couldn't because honestly that's exactly what I did and I wasn't a good enough liar to come up with anything that would seem believable.

_I take back my statement about liking it here. I hate it._

"Leave her alone," said Tyler, Who moved the subject on to a fight he had heard happened last period.

I knew Angela and Tyler were just being nice, but I kind of felt like I was being treated like I was special. I was a little kid that needed to be looked after. It was nice to do it once and in a while, but it was quickly becoming a trend. Jessica and Lauren would hassle me and then Angela or Tyler would jump in telling them to back off. I wanted to tell them to stop it, but every time I opened my mouth it felt dry and my brain would freeze. All I could do was sit there and take it, and just hope that eventually it would stop.

_I am pathetic._

I went home hating myself once again for my inability to speak up.

The next day I met up with Angela at her locker. It was a way to avoid Mike, who still seemed to be following me everywhere. It seemed that while everyone else had gotten bored of me, he insisted that he walk me to every class. I didn't understand him whatsoever. He always had a bright smile on his face and was always crowding me. No matter what I did he didn't seem to go away. It was really starting to creep me out.

Angela snapped open her locker and smiled at me. "Hey, how was History?"

"Okay." When she was done getting her books she slammed her locker.

Once again she began talking about Ben.

"I have physics with him and all we do is pass notes to each other," she went on with a big, goofy smile on her face. "He's really nice and I always catch him looking at me when he thinks I'm not looking. I mean I want to tell him I like him, but I'm afraid that maybe I am looking too much into it, you know?"

"It doesn't sound like it to me," I replied honestly. I had never had any personal experience with liking anyone or anyone liking me back. My only advice came from books and TV.

"I don't know... I just get so nervous when I think about telling him." She shook her head. "I wish he would just come out and say if he actually likes me or not."

"Maybe you should write one of those notes that says 'check yes if you like me and no if you don't'," I joked.

She wrinkled her nose. "That is so corny."

My anxiety rose slightly. _Stupid, of course that was corny. Why would you say something like that? What are you, __five?_

I once again pushed back the panic and tried to look calm. "I don't know, seriously you are asking the wrong per-"

My heart stopped as my eyes focused on the figure standing at the end of the hall. I had last seen him a couple of weeks ago and even from a distance I knew my memory didn't do him justice. It was _him. _The guy that had been standing at the foot of my porch asking me if I could see him. I could see him all right . I could point him out in the middle of a crowded room, because my eyes found him immediately. I felt my cheeks flush as I looked at him. _So he does go to this school? _I had wondered ever since I saw him if he went to Forks High School . Since I had never seen him in school before today I had assumed he didn't. Why did he seemed frustrated?

"Bella?" said Angela, waving her hand in front of my face.

"Huh?" I snapped out of it, looking at her.

"Are you alright? You zoned out there for a moment."

"Yeah, sorry." I looked to see if he was still there out of the corner of my eyes , but of course he was gone.

"Well, I'm going to head to class. See you at lunch?"

I nodded as she disappeared into the classroom .

During class I could not concentrate. I kept thinking about him. I had never been attracted to someone before. I mean, I did have a few crushes on boys at my old school, but I never really thought twice about it. I thought there was no chance of them liking me back , so why even bother? I wasn't even sure why I was wasting my time thinking of him. A couple of weeks ago he had just stood in front of me staring at me like I was some sort of freak. I was slightly annoyed with Jake that he had interrupted whatever the boy was going to say. It had been bugging me ever since.

It probably wasn't as interesting as I was making it out to be.

Then I remembered that he was scowling at me when I saw him in the hallway. Did that mean that he was mad at me? But what could he possibly be mad at me for?

Why was I even wasting my time thinking about this? It's not like I would ever talk to him again. Someone that good looking had better things to do than to talk to someone like me.

_Just forget it, Bella._

Once again at lunch the topic of discussion was a party that Mike had heard about. Jessica and Lauren were beaming with excitement, while Tyler seemed indifferent. I heard him make a comment about how he didn't trust the guy. I think his name was James? I wasn't paying much attention because I honestly didn't care.

"-he's suppose to be real rich and his parents are going on some vacation that weekend." , said Lauren.

I internally rolled my eyes. _Why am I sitting here again?_

_Oh, I know, because_ _I'm an idiot._

I was sitting next to Angela this time around, who had her nose buried in a book. She wasn't paying attention either. She had told me earlier that she only sat with Jessica because she didn't want to sit by herself. I could understand that. I hated sitting by myself at my old school. It was like having "loser" stamped on your forehead for the world to see.

I looked around the cafeteria, seeing all the various people talking amongst their groups of friends. It was your typical high school. There were your jocks, goths, geeks and outcasts; I sipped on my coke and I scanned the cafeteria until my eyes rested on the bronze haired- boy sitting at the table across from ours. I nearly choked on my drink when I saw him. He was there with that same frustrated look.

"You okay?" asked Angela.

I nodded, coughing, "Yeah, just swallowed too fast." I looked back at the table and saw that he was still glaring at me. _Maybe he really was angry at me?_

_I wonder if Angela knows who he is. _

_Just ask her! _I mentally screamed at myself.

I tapped on her arm lightly to get her attention. "Hey."

"Hmm?" She lifted her head from her book.

"Do you see that guy over there?" I moved my head in his direction, trying to be as discrete as possible. I knew I wasn't doing a very good job; it would have been impossible considering he was staring right at me.

She looked over to where I had gestured. "Who am I looking for exactly?" She leaned in and whispered, so no one else at our table could hear.

"That guy that keeps staring at me, he's at the table right in front of us."

She looked ahead and craned her neck in a not so subtle way. She came back down and whispered, "Are you talking about Emmett?"

I shook my head no. I knew who Emmett was. He was a big guy that sat with his girlfriend Rosalie. I had a class with him first period; he sat in the corner and was always snoring and drooling on his desk. A couple of days ago Mr. Henderson had had enough of him sleeping and took a large, thick text book and slammed it into Emmett's desk. He had done it so hard that the desk's corner literally snapped right off. Emmett just sat up and rubbed his eyes, telling Mr. Henderson he was a douche bag before putting his head back down and falling right back to sleep. The teacher just stood there stunned, staring at the broken desk, as his face turned beet red with embarrassment.

"The guy with the reddish brown hair," I whispered. "He's right next to Emmett."

She looked around once more and then looked back at me, frowning. "I don't see anyone staring at you, Bella."

I looked over to see if he disappeared, but he was still there. _How could she not see him?_

"Who's staring at Bella?" asked Jessica, butting in.

"Someone is staring at her?" Mike began frantically searching the cafeteria. "Who is it?"

"No one," I mumbled.

"I heard what you guys said. Come on Bella, who is your secret admirer?" Jessica nudged my shoulder, with a big smile across her face.

Mike frowned.

"It's no one really, just forget it." I shook my head, mentally begging her to leave it alone. _Please just drop it._

"Is it Emmett?" She craned her neck, looking over at his table. "Is that who you like? I heard you say his name."

I saw Mike wrinkle his nose. "Don't tell me you're into those kind of guys?"

_Why was I sitting with these people? _Emmett seemed to have overheard his name and glanced back at us. I sank down in my seat putting my head down.

"Rose is giving you the death glare," snickered Lauren.

_Great. Just great. Shoot me now!_

I glanced up and then wished I hadn't because she definitely was giving me the death glare. I took this chance to get in a quick glace to see if _he _was still there, but just like all the other times, he had once again disappeared.

After that, school seemed to drag on. I kept thinking back to the guy sitting at the lunch table. How could Angela not see him? He was right there sitting right there.

When the final bell rang, snapping me out of my thoughts,. I gathered my things and headed quickly to the parking lot. As I walked to my truck I pulled out my Ipod and scrolled through the songs. _With music playing I won't be able to think._

I looked up on occasion, making sure not to trip or fall. When I couldn't find anything that was worth listening to I pulled out my ear plugs and shoved my Ipod into my pocket. I was going to have to buy some new music when I got home.

When I looked up at my truck, I stopped dead in my tracks as my eyes widened.

Standing there, leaning against my car, was _him. _He had on his dark t-shirt and faded jeans. He wasn't scowling this time and was looking off somewhere and looked like a model standing next to my truck. His hands were in his pockets as he leaned up against it.

I had to stop myself from staring and told my feet to keep moving. If he turned and saw me staring at him I would look like even more of an idiot.

When I was about two feet in front of him he slowly turned his head toward me. His eyes met mine and I was once again taken aback by their emerald color. _Can someone really look this perfect?_

"Hello?" I managed to choke out. My heart was pounding in my ears. I tried to tell myself to calm down and act normal. I had always tried this when I talked to people and it never really worked. This time was no different. My palms were sweaty and I fidgeted with my car keys in my hands. _I must look so awkward right now. Why can't I act normal?_

He, on the other hand, didn't look in the slightest bit nervous. He looked calm and collected which made him look even more perfect. He lifted himself off my truck and took a step forward, scowling at me once again. "You really can see me, can't you?"

_Was he going to start this again? _I decided to humor him and answer... again. "Yes, I can see you."

He paused for a moment and looked like he was thinking something over. "Are you some sort of psychic?"

_What?_

"Excuse me?"

"Are you a psychic?" he repeated in a serious tone. He was staring down at me, as if he were trying to force me to answer. Was this some sort of weird joke?

"Um, no..."

"Do you see other ghosts?"

_Ghosts? _"Is this some sort of joke?"_ It had to be a joke. _

His brow furrowed. "Then why can you see me?"

"Why do you keep saying that?"

_Was this a trick question?_ I just gaped at him wondering where the hell this was all going. This had to be a trick or something. At my old school I was occasionally he butt of other people's jokes. Was this guy trying to do the same thing to me? It wouldn't surprise me, after all; he was good looking. It was always the people that had good looks that you had to watch out for. They picked on anyone that they thought was lower than them, just to make themselves feel better.

"Bella, what are you doing?" I looked over to see Jessica and Lauren walking by.

"Are you talking to yourself?" said Lauren. I could tell she was fighting a smile.

"No, I'm talking to-" I looked over at him and he was shaking his head.

"That wouldn't be a good idea," he said.

They looked at him and then back at me, then each other. "Bella, are you okay?" asked Jessica.

"Um, yes?" _Why was she asking if I was okay?_

"We saw you just standing here talking to yourself," she explained.

"I'm not talking to myself." I pointed to him. "I was talking to him." _Were they in on this joke too_ _?_

This did not help my case, because they had that look I all knew all too well. What I didn't understand was _why_ they were looking at me that way. All I was doing was standing here talking to some guy. I wasn't talking to myself. Couldn't they see him, clear as day? He looked about six feet tall , which had to be hard to miss.

"They can't see me." He nodded toward Jessica and Lauren.

I frowned, confused.

"I told you she didn't seem all there." I heard Lauren whisper to Jessica.

I felt like I had been kicked in the stomach.

"Bella, do you need to go to the nurse? I'm sure she's still here if you're not feeling well," said Jessica.

"I feel fine," I snapped, annoyed. "Can't you see him? He's right there!" I gestured my hands toward him.

"Bella there is no one there, unless you are talking to that truck of yours... " Lauren eyed me suspiciously.

"I'm not talking to my truck!" I was surprised that I was actually raising my voice, but this was ridiculous. They can't honestly be playing a joke on me.

"What is your problem?" said Jessica. "We just came over to see if you were alright. Not for you to snap at us."

"Come on Jess, let's leave her alone with her imaginary friend," snickered Lauren. They turned on their heels and walked away, whispering to one another and glancing back at me.

My stomach twisted and I felt hurt and angry all at the same time. This had to be a joke_. _It just had to be. Which meant that the joke was me? .

"I told you it wasn't a good idea. They can't see me," he said, stepping closer to me.

_Why can't life give me a break? _Nothing ever seemed to go the way I wanted it to. I just wanted to be left alone.

"Are you alright?" he asked softly.

"Am I alright?" I snapped. "Am I alright!?" I narrowed my eyes at him.

Since Jessica and Lauren had left I focused all my anger on him. He deserved it anyway . He was part of this whole thing to . "Do you think this is funny? Did Jessica put you up to this or something? Make fun of the new girl?"

"No, that's not it at all. I came here to-"

"No, just shut up!" I shouted, flailing my arms in the air. "Just shut up! I have had enough. I don't need this right now." I walked past him and jumped into my truck.

Looking out my window, I turned to him.

He opened his mouth to say something but I cut him off. "Just leave me alone okay? No more showing up at my house or staring at me! Just stop! It's not funny. Just leave me alone!" My voice was begging. I swallowed back tears that threatened to spill over. _I'm not going to cry._

_I refuse to cry._

I hated this school. I hated this place, but most of all I hated myself. Why couldn't I have a backbone? Why couldn't I snap at Lauren and Jessica like I had at him? I just let them trample all over me.

"Look, I really am sorry," he sighed, running his hand through his hair. "I should have waited to talk to you until you were away from people, but I just couldn't wait any longer. I wanted to know why you can see me. I have been wandering around for three years and not one person could see me and then you come along," he rambled on. "It's very frustrating."

I was so confused. _What is he talking about?_

"Why do you keep saying that?" My voice was hoarse. "That I can see you? Are you seriously sticking to Jessica and Lauren's little joke after-"

"It's not a joke!" he shouted as he slammed his hands on my door in frustration.

I flinched, surprised by his outburst.

"Sorry," he muttered, "but I'm being serious when I say this." He paused for a moment.

"My name is Edward Cullen." Once again he was silent, staring at me.

"Okay?" _Was I supposed_ _to know him?_

"I'm … I'm a ghost or whatever you want to call it."

I stared at him, waiting for the punch line. Any minute he would tell me this was a joke, but instead he kept staring at me with those green eyes waiting for me to respond.

I clenched my teeth in anger. There was only so much I could take.

"Bullshit," I replied and sped off.

**----------**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Once again thanks so much to project Team Beta! =D And also thanks to all the reviews! **

**Wow I never would have thought I would get almost 50 reviews!!! Thanks!!!! It really helps me write...**

**Disclaimer: All Twilight charaters are owned by Stephenie Meyer.**

I drove away as fast as my truck could manage. I didn't even care if I ran over his foot. In fact, I hoped that I did.

A ghost?

What kind of joke was that?

I officially hated school.

I would be happy never to have to go back to that place again. How was I even supposed to go back to school anyways after that?

By tomorrow everyone would hear about Jessica and Lauren's little joke. I could already picture the stares and whispers behind my back, as if I didn't have enough people staring at me already.

Worst of all I couldn't get Lauren's words out of my head. _"I told you she wasn't all there."_ I thought perhaps since I had become friends with Angela and Jake that maybe there was a slight chance that I could change. That maybe I could be a normal teenager, with friends, and an actual life, but today was just another reminder of why I should avoid people.

Of course they could see how crazy I was. I was an unstable mess. Even with countless sessions of therapy, I couldn't be fixed. I was still the same old, broken Bella.

Driving down the road, tears blurred my eyes. I wiped them away as quickly as they came, but I couldn't stop. I felt weak and numb. I just wanted the pain in my aching chest to go away.

I needed to pull over in order to calm down.

Charlie would be home today and I couldn't let him see me like this. He probably had a therapist on speed dial just in case something like this happened. I was barely able to convince him before that I didn't need to go to therapy anymore. I told him I could do just fine on my own. He wasn't too happy about it, but he in the end he gave in.

I dreaded having another conversation about how I was having difficulty adjusting to life after Renee's death. It wasn't like I hated talking about it… Well no, that was a lie; I hated talking about it just as much as Charlie did. He was never one to talk about his feelings and I guess I had inherited that from him.

When I finally pulled over on the side of the road, I rested my head against the steering wheel and took deep, calming breaths .

_Calm down. Just calm down._ I chanted to myself.

I sniffled and wiped my nose on my sleeve. I felt tired and drained.

I had no energy to do anything. I didn't even feel like driving home. I just wanted to sit here and do nothing. It seemed like there was a huge hole in my heart that would never go away.

There was nothing for me at home anyways. Charlie probably wouldn't care if I didn't come back. He'd most likely be happy to no longer have to deal with me anymore. No more having to worry about whether or not I was making friends in school . There would be no more going into my room and asking me if I was alright.

No one cared.

Everyone could see how damaged I was, no matter how much I tried to cover it up. I thought maybe, just maybe, I could manage to have a few friends, to finally have a life like a normal teenager, but I was kidding myself. I was awkward and uncomfortable around people. I just wanted to be left alone in the end.

Everything just seemed so pointless. I didn't even have a life really, I was just simply there. All I did was spend all day in my room , sitting alone without anyone to talk to_. _

_God, I am pathetic._

I closed my eyes, listening to the rain trickle down. It was times like this that I wished I could just die, so I wouldn't have to feel this way anymore. If I were dead I wouldn't have to deal with this. I knew it was awful to think this way, but I didn't care. I hated my life and I didn't want it anymore.

_I wish I could start over somehow._

I wasn't sure how long I sat there, but I knew I should probably be heading home. I didn't want to worry Charlie .

I checked myself in the mirror to see if my eyes were still red and if the puffiness went had went down. When I was satisfied with how I looked, I started my truck and headed home.

I tried to push all thoughts of Lauren, Jessica and ghost boy out of my head, but it was impossible. I kept thinking about the hell I that was going to have to endure when I had to go to school tomorrow. _Maybe I could fake being sick_ _?_

No, I couldn't do that. I tried that enough last year, there would be no way Charlie would buy it.

I would have to face the public humiliation no matter what. The sooner the better, I tried to reason with myself.

I felt sick just thinking about tomorrow.

When I saw the house in sight I was surprised to see that Charlie's police cruiser wasn't in the driveway.

Relief washed over me at the thought that I would have the house to myself for a little while. I could cry in my room in peace and not have to worry if Charlie would hear me or not.

I stepped out of my truck and swung my backpack over my shoulder as I slammed my car door.

"Where have you been?"

For a split second I thought it was Charlie. I thought that perhaps I had missed his car somehow, but when I looked up it was the last person in the world I expected it to be.

Edward was standing at the foot of the porch. He looked annoyed and his hair was slightly messier than earlier.

"What are you doing here?" I asked. My confusion overlapped the slight twinge of annoyance.

"I was here waiting for you." He walked toward me, standing a few feet away from me.

I frowned. "Why?"

"I wanted to apologize for what happened with Lauren and Jessica." His voice sounded sincere.

I was taken aback; I didn't expect any type of apology. No one had ever told me they were sorry before.

"Um… okay, thanks, " I replied. Was that all he came here for?

He didn't seem like he had any intention to leave. He was shifting his feet awkwardly and he kept opening and closing his mouth.

"Is there something else you wanted?"

"Yes, I wasn't lying when I told you I was a _ghost_." I noticed him cringe at the word. "I meant what I said, but I didn't mean for anyone to see you talking to me. I should have waited or at least made sure no one was around."

_Wait, what?_

I thought he just said he was sorry. Why was he still telling me he was a ghost?

"I… I don't understand," I said.

"I just wanted some answers. I thought…" he paused for a moment. "It doesn't matter what I thought. I'm just really sorry for what happened ."

"Okay…" I said, slowly. "I still don't understand."

"I used to live in this house. My father is Carlisle; he was the one who sold it to your dad." He tried to explain.

I thought it over for a moment and remembered something that Billy had said. "You're saying you're the doctor's son?" I asked in disbelief.

"Yes." He nodded.

"Are you serious?"

"Yes." He nodded slowly. He seemed to be worrying about my reaction, which confused me even more.

I wasn't sure what to say or what he wanted me to say. Was this another joke? ? And if it was, it wasn't a very good one. Teenagers don't go around telling others that they're ghosts. It seemed childish. .

_What was with this guy_ ?

I sighed, feeling exhausted. "I… I'm going inside my house, okay?" I told him. I couldn't take anymore of this. It was just getting weird now.

I walked past him, heading into the house.

_Is he going to leave or just stand there?_

"I can prove it," he said from behind me.

As my foot hit the first step, I froze. "Prove it?" I asked, curious. I don't know why I was even humoring him, but I kept getting this nagging feeling that he was telling the truth. There was just something about the way he spoke. Like he honestly believed that he was a ghost or maybe he was just some random crazy person. A very good looking, crazy person that is.

I turned to him and saw his hands in his pockets. He was looking up toward the house and then he looked back at me.

"Yes, I'll meet you upstairs, " he replied, and then just disappeared.

And when I say disappear, I mean he literally disappeared right in front of my eyes.

I gasped as I dropped my backpack onto the ground staring at where he had been standing. My mouth was practically hitting the floor.

_What the hell just happened?_

It was just like the time that I had seen him a couple of weeks ago. He had been standing at the foot of my porch and he just disappeared, but this time I had actually seen it happen. I didn't look away and I couldn't wrap my mind around it.

Was I hallucinating?

Your mind could do some strange things when it was under stress.

I stepped off the porch and looked around the yard frantically, seeing if he possibly could be hiding somewhere, but I knew that was also impossible. I would have seen him.

"You coming?" I heard him say.

I turned around to see him standing by the front door. He was gesturing toward it.

"How… where did you go?" I stammered.

"I told you, I would meet you upstairs."

I frowned. "What… were you-" I found myself pointing from where he had been to where he was now, like an idiot. I couldn't comprehend what the hell just happened.

"Sorry, I'm not used to anyone seeing me." He was still talking about the ghost thing again.

I stood there wondering if I was crazy or not. I just had to be; people don't disappear into thin air like that. I looked up at him and then back at the spot he had been.

I had to be crazy. I just had to be .

"Bella?" Edward asked. "Are you coming?" He gestured toward the door again, impatiently.

"Where exactly is this proof?" I asked.

"In my room. " He shrugged.

"In your room? And where exactly is that?"

"Technically, it's your room now."

"My room?!" _No no, he's not going in my room! _"You are not going in my room!" I stepped onto the porch.

"Why?" He frowned.

"Because it's my room!" I reasoned. There was no way that I was letting some random guy in my room. Especially when I couldn't remember if I had anything embarrassing lying around or not.

He looked like he was fighting a smile. "Try and stop me." And then just like before he was gone.

It took me less longer this time too recover from the shock, but eventually I was able to get my feet moving.

I wasn't sure if I was going to find him in my room or not, but I didn't want to chance it.

As soon as I was through the front door I locked it behind me and ran upstairs as fast as I could.

Being as clumsy as I am, I stumbled a bit and nearly fell on my face. Luckily I caught myself in time on the banister.

I made my way to my room, busting open the door with a little to much force causing the door to bounce back. It nearly hit me in the face, but my hand caught it just in time.

"Why are you in such a hurry?" Edward chuckled, as he stood in front of my bookshelf.

"How… how did you get up here so fast?" I asked through gasps. Man, was I out of shape. I clenched my chest trying to catch my breath.

I never realized until this moment, but this house has way too many stairs.

As I stood there trying to catch my breath, I watch as he stared at me, amused. It felt weird having some random guy in my room. I wanted to tell him to leave, but at the moment I couldn't bring myself to say it.

He shrugged. "I can be anywhere I want to be by just thinking it." He turned away from me and began looking at my books once again. "You have an interesting collection here."

I stiffened. I didn't like people looking at my things. I tried to quickly survey what I had. I prayed that there was nothing embarrassing.

"Pride and Prejudice, Jane Eyre, and what's this…" H is fingers scanned down lower on the shelf and he paused. I watched as his shoulders shook slightly.

Shit.

"Are these cheesy romance novels?" I heard him laugh.

I blushed crimson. "So?" I said, trying to sound like I didn't care, but my voice betrayed me because it came out weak and squeaky. _I am such an idiot. _

No one ever came in my room so I saw no point in hiding them.

He turned away from the bookshelf and approached the closet. He looked it over and placed his hands on the knob. For a moment I thought he was going to open it.

I fidgeted with the sleeve of my hoodie, my heart pounding in my ears.

Should I tell him to leave? Maybe if I tell him Charlie will be home soon…

What the hell was I doing? Letting some stranger in the house!

Technically, I didn't let him in the house, he just appeared in the house. If that was possible.

"Bella?" Edward called to me, snapping me out of my inner monologue.

"Huh?"

"The proof is in here," he said, tapping on the closet door.

"Okay." I waited for him to open it, but when he didn't I walked over.

"I can't touch things, " he explained. "Well, only for a second. Not long enough to open doors, or pick up objects." He held up his hands.

I remembered when he had slammed his hands on my truck earlier."Oh, " I said, lamely, not sure what to say.

I opened the closet door and waited for more instructions.

"There is a crawl space in the back that leads to the attic."

I nodded and was about to head into the closet when he held his hand up, stopping me.

I flinched.

"Wait, before you go in there, I want you to promise me something."

"Pr… promise what?" I stammered.

"That you won't read it. There is a journal, along with other personal things, and I don't want anyone reading it." H e looked nervous as he looked at me and then glanced at the crawl space.

"I promise," I said.

He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. I was beginning to think it was a nervous tick. It was kind of refreshing, in an odd way. It made him seem less perfect, but not in a bad way.

"Alright, go ahead." He sighed.

I stepped into the closet. I was slightly embarrassed that he could see all my boyish clothes, but I pushed it to the back of my mind. It was easy since my curiosity had gotten the better of me.

When I pushed back the small amount of clothes that I had, sure enough there on the wall was an outline of a crawl space. I glanced back at Edward who was leaning up against the wall watching me. "Go on," he urged.

I swallowed a swell of panic, wondering if this was all a trick. What if he was some sort of murderer who chopped people up and then buried them in their own house's crawl space?

But once again this nagging feeling was at the back of my mind telling me to just go with it. I was curious to see what this proof actually was.

I pulled the board down and the cold air of the attic rushed out.

"It's on the left; just reach your hand in. It should be only a few inches away," he told me.

I knelt down on my knees and cringed slightly, wondering what the hell I might pull out.

I blindly searched around, my hand feeling its way around until I felt something that I recognized as a leather binding. I reached out and held onto it as tightly as I could, making sure that it wouldn't drop.

"Did you find it?" asked Edward. I could feel him behind me looking over my shoulder.

"Um, yeah, I think so." I pulled it out, along with a big wad of dust.

It filled the air and I coughed, fanning my hand in front of my face.

I stood up from the closet and held the journal in my hand. I would put the board back on later.

I held the book out to show him what I had found.

"That's it."

I gave a few more embarrassing coughs before attempting to open it. I wasn't even thinking. I was only curious to see what was inside.

Edward's hand slapped on the cover as soon as I tried to turn the first page.

I jumped back, startled. I looked up at his narrowing eyes. "Remember, you promised no reading," he said sternly.

"Uh, yeah, no reading, " I repeated. I held up my hand, as if to give a scouts honor, but quickly put my hand down when he was still scowling at me.

"I'm being serious. I don't want you reading it."

"I promise I won't." I tried to sound as convincing as possible, but I could tell he wasn't entirely satisfied. .

I honestly wasn't going to read it, but I couldn't help the building curiosity, wondering what he didn't want me to see.

_It's a journal, Bella! It has his personal thoughts._

_Would you want someone reading your thoughts?_

_Hell no!_

And that's the only reason that kept me from reading it. After all, I didn't know him, I couldn't very well trust him, but I could respect his personal thoughts. The last thing I wanted was someone prying into my head.

"Open only to the first page, there should be a family photo taped on the inside." He lifted his hand.

I looked back down at the journal and then back at Edward, just to make sure that it was alright. When he didn't say anything, I figured it was. .

I held it tightly in my hands, noticing the overflow of papers that were stuffed inside. The last thing I wanted was for everything to spill out onto the floor. Something told me that he wouldn't be too happy.

I opened the cover and peered inside. Sure enough, on the inside was a family photo.

In the picture stood four people.

They stood outside the very house that Charlie and I now lived in . The woman in the photo had her arm wrapped around her husband. I couldn't tell who he was because aside from his shoulder and an arm the rest seemed to be torn off.

The rest of the portrait however, seemed to be perfectly intact. The woman had a bright smile as she hugged a small girl with short black hair, she too had a bright smile across her face. My eyes drifted to the person standing next to her, I knew who it was right away. He looked slightly younger, but the bronze hair and emerald eyes were the same. Unlike the other two, he didn't have a bright smile. He looked slightly uncomfortable and wore a crooked grin .

I looked below the photo and saw the names written in order of appearance.

_Esme, Alice, Edward and Carlisle_

_June 20th, 2005_

_Edward and Alice's 15th birthday._

I looked at the boy in the photo then back at Edward.

He was no longer standing beside me. Instead he was sitting on the window seat with his head in his hands.

Billy's words came flooding back to me._"The doc's __son died about three years ago. No one really knows what happened. Carlisle and his family keep to themselves most of the time. He was about Bella's age when it happened, I know that. Ever since their son died they haven't been back. They used to come here every so often and stay for a couple of weeks."_

I thought back to all the times I had seen him.

A couple of weeks ago when he was standing at my porch, Jacob thought that I had been talking to myself. At that moment I had thought that maybe I was just seeing things, but I knew it just seemed too real.

Also, Angela hadn't been able to see him even though he was clearly right there in front of her, and then this afternoon after school with Jessica and Lauren.

No one had seen him but me. Was he really... I didn't even want to even admit it, but everything seemed to point to the fact that he was telling the truth.

_Ghosts weren't real. _

When people died there was only two places that they could go. At least that's what I had believed up until this point. I always thought that people who believed in ghosts were just people with overactive imaginations and who just wanted something to believe in. I had flicked through the TV countless times seeing people claiming to have contacted the dead.

I looked him over; there was nothing about him that gave any clue that he was a ghost. He wasn't transparent and there was no sort of white aura around him. Weren't ghosts supposed to be white and glowing or something? Maybe even like a black shadow?

He looked just as real as anyone else you'd see walking down the street. There was nothing about him that would give me any indication that he was in fact… a ghost.

"So… you're really…" _dead. _I didn't want to say it aloud. It seemed kind of cruel in a weird way. Telling someone they're dead. Who wants to hear that they're dead?

"Are you convinced now?" he asked.

---------------------------------------------

------------------

**A/N: I wonder what Edward has written in his journal... hmmm.**

**Tell me what you think..... please?**

**Feel free to give me suggestions (that would be really helpful) or ask me questions.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Thanks once again to project team beta! And also to everyone who reviewed! You guys are all awesome! It's nice to know people are taking the time to read what I write. I know my writing isn't the best. =/ So thanks again!**

**Disclaimer: All Twilight Characters are owned by Stephenie Meyer.**

I looked back at the photo and then at Edward, one last time.

"I… I don't know," I said.

Edward groaned and placed his head back in his hands in frustration. "You don't believe me?" His voice was muffled.

It wasn't like I had trouble believing him. Wait no, that was a lie; I did have trouble believing him. He just looked so normal, but then again people just don't disappear out of thin air like he had. Then of course there was the part where only I could see him, which seemed even stranger. I mean, why me out of all people? It was just all too weird, but somehow I knew he wasn't lying; no matter how much I didn't want to believe it, this was real.

The proof was in my hands, no matter how much I wanted to deny that this wasn't actually happening.

So I made up my mind and decided it was best to just go with it rather than deny it any longer. "Yes… I believe you," I said softly.

Edward lifted his head from his hands. "You do?" His brows raised in surprise.

"Yeah." I couldn't believe it myself. I was about to say something else when there was a knock at the door.

"Bella?" I heard Charlie call from the other side.

I stiffened as I felt a sliver of panic. I looked at Edward and then back at the door. Charlie wouldn't be too happy if he found a boy in my room. No matter how much he wanted me to make friends.

My panic must have shown on my face because Edward said, "Only you can see me, remember?"

I felt slightly relieved at the thought, but I wasn't entirely convinced. I closed the journal in my hands and placed it on my dresser before opening the door. I opened it just a crack and stood in the doorway. Even if Charlie wasn't able to see Edward I didn't want to chance it. "Yeah, Dad?" My voice was slightly squeaky.

Charlie rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "I just got back from fishing with Billy and Jake. You got my note, didn't you?"

He must have left a note on the fridge, like he always did when he was out late. "Um, yeah," I lied.

"I was going to have you come with us, but you didn't come home after school." He wanted me to explain where I had been. He probably thought it was odd considering that I never came home late after school.

"I ah… I…" My mind went blank.

"Tell him you were with Angela." I heard Edward say from behind me.

He startled me and I looked back at him. He was no longer sitting by the window, but was roaming around my room once again. I wanted to tell him not to look at my things, but I couldn't very well do that in front of Charlie.

"Is something wrong, Bella?" asked Charlie. He craned his neck to look past me.

On instinct I stepped a little further out into the hall, so he wasn't able to see past me.

"Uh, no. I was at Angela's house after school. We had a project to do together for history." I was such a horrible liar. With all my stuttering it made it so obvious, but Charlie didn't seem to notice. I felt guilty for lying, but I couldn't very well tell him the truth.

He frowned. "If anything is wrong you know you can tell me, right?" He was always uncomfortable when it came to talking about feelings. I could only imagine how difficult it must have been for him to even say that one little sentence.

I was a lot like him in that way, which was why I wasn't going to tell him the truth. I couldn't tell him that I hated school and wished we had never moved here. So once again, I lied. "Dad, everything is fine." I smiled, trying to make myself believable. "Would you stop worrying?" The last part sounded like the old me. I even rolled my eyes for effect.

"Are you sure you're alright?"

"Yeah, Dad, I'm sure."

The corner of his mouth curved up slightly. "Okay. Well, next time you are out with your friends, call me?"

"I will." _I doubt I'll ever need to._

After what seemed like forever of awkward silence he said, "Well, there's pizza downstairs if you want some."

"Okay." I nodded. "I'm not really hungry, but thanks."

"Alright, just thought I'd check up on you. Well, goodnight," he said before walking away.

I waited until he was completely out of view before shutting the door. I sighed in relief and clasped my hand on my head. Every time I talked to Charlie I seemed to feel even worse about myself. I hated being a disappointment to him. He wanted me to go out and act like a normal teenager, but for some stupid reason, I just couldn't do that. All I wanted to do was hide in my room all day from the world and hope that I would just get better in time.

I heard a soft thud from behind me, reminding me that I wasn't alone in the room.

I turned around to see Edward standing by my old paintings. They had been leaning up against the wall in the corner. I was planning on putting them away, but had never gotten around to it. Edward crouched down and looked at the painting that had landed on the floor. "Hey, this is really good," he said. He looked impressed as his eyes scanned it.

It took a moment for me to register what was going on. Edward was looking at my things. He was looking at my paintings! My anxiety shot up and I rushed over, pulling the painting off the ground. I placed the painting back against the wall. "C-could you stop looking at my things?" I stuttered nervously.

He ignored me. "You're really talented."

I blushed and mumbled, "Thanks."

"Why'd you stop?"

"What do you mean?" I shuffled through my paintings, not wanting to look at him.

"Why don't you paint anymore?"

I snapped my head up. "How did you know that?" It was a little creepy how he knew. _Do ghosts have telepathy_ _or something? _

_God, I hope not._

Edward shrugged and rose from the ground. He placed his hands in his pockets. "I saw your Dad talking to a neighbor about you. He told her how much you loved to paint, but that you had stopped."

It came as no surprise, Charlie once again bragging about my art. I felt a twinge of annoyance at the reminder that he seemed to be so proud of me now that I wasn't doing it anymore. "I just don't feel like doing it," I lied.

One minute Edward was standing beside me and then the next he was sitting on the window seat in the blink of an eye. "Why?" he asked, as if he didn't just disappear and then reappear.

"Could you not do that?" I asked, blinking a few times.

"Do what?" He frowned.

"Disappear randomly… it's weird."

"Sorry, I'll try not to," he replied. He glanced at my paintings then back at me and raised a brow. "Now are you going to tell me why you don't paint anymore?"

"I already told you, I just don't want to." I sat on the bed across from him and pulled a pillow on my lap.

Edward was sitting Indian style on the window seat. I still couldn't believe that he was sitting in my room. He looked so relax and at ease, while I was tense and nervous. Never had I before even talked to a guy that looked as good as him and here I was sitting with him in my room.

_Only because you're the only one who can see him, otherwise he probably would never have talked to you. _

"You're lying," Edward accused.

It took me a moment to remember what we were even talking about.I was caught off guard by him being so blunt.

"You're a horrible liar, you know that? Your Dad may have believed you, but I don't. What's the real reason?" He seemed interested and I couldn't figure out why. What did he care?

I didn't want to tell him. I couldn't stand people feeling sorry for me. "Why do you want to know?" I asked defensively.

"I'm just curious." He shrugged. His eyes locked with mine and I was once again lost in his gaze. My cheeks flushed and my heart beat faster in my chest. What the heck was wrong with me? Why couldn't I calm down?

"I already told you; if you don't believe me, that's your problem." My tone was harsh, but I didn't care. I didn't want to talk about it.

Gripping the pillow in my hands; I tried to calm my nerves.

Edward seemed amused by my reaction because he smiled. "Are you scared of me or something?"

"What?"

"Are you scared of me?" he asked.

"No, I'm not." Which I wasn't, surprisingly. After all I was in a room with a stranger that happened to be a ghost. Maybe it's because I still couldn't believe all this was real. Just about an hour ago, I didn't believe in ghosts and now here I was talking to one.

"I can't hurt you, just so you know," he spoke quietly.

I raised an eyebrow, curious.

"I can't touch people."

I waited for him to elaborate.

"I can't physically touch anyone. I may be able to touch objects for a second or two, but actual living things, it's impossible." He looked toward his hands. I couldn't help but note the slightest change in his voice. He seemed sad.

My nerves seemed to ease at that moment and I let go of the pillow and placed it beside me. I believed him. If he said he wouldn't hurt me, then I believed him.

He kept staring at his hands and I wondered if he had forgotten that I was in the room. He looked lost in his own thoughts.

"Edward?" It was the first time I had said his name aloud. It felt weird saying it.

He snapped his head up.

"Are… are you alright?" I hated it when people asked me the very same question when it was obvious I wasn't, but I couldn't think of anything else to say. He just looked so lost and alone.

"Yeah." He smiled slightly, but I knew it was fake. I had used that smile all too often.

_Of course he isn't alright._

_He's dead._

He rose from the seat. "It's getting late, I should leave." He looked toward the window.

I hadn't even realized how late it was. I glanced at the clock on my dresser and saw that it was nine. My eyes then drifted to his journal sitting beside the clock..

"Would you mind putting it away for me?" asked Edward.

He must have seen me staring at it. "Uh, yeah no problem." I shot up from the bed and walked over to the dresser.

Without another word I put his journal away back into the crawl space. I put the board in place and shut the closet doors. When I was finished, I turned around and saw that Edward was no longer there. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised that he had disappeared, but I knew it wouldn't be the last time I'd see him.

The next morning Edward was on my mind the whole time so much that I had almost forgotten about the incident in the parking lot yesterday.

Well, _almost._

As soon as I walked into the classroom I saw Jessica and Lauren and everything came rushing back. I winced at the memory.

I ducked my head down and rushed to my seat hoping they wouldn't notice me. When I sat in my seat, however, I knew I had been spotted because Jessica turned toward me slightly, looking at me out of the corner of her eye. She then proceeded to tap Lauren on the shoulder and whisper in her ear. They both began to giggle and looked back at me.

I forced my head down, looking at my books on my desk and trying to do my best to ignore them.

_Ugh, this was going to be a long day._

The bell rang shortly after and class began.

I tried my best to pay attention and to keep my mind away from Jessica and Lauren, but I couldn't. My brain wouldn't let me. I could have sworn everyone was staring at me and whispering. I didn't know if it was just me being paranoid or if they were actually talking about me. They must have all thought I was crazy. I'm sure by now Jessica and Lauren told everyone that would listen about what happened.

I looked at the clock every two seconds waiting for the bell to ring, so I could get out of here. My stomach was twisting in knots.

When the bell finally rang, I gathered my things as fast as I could and ran out of the room. To my horror, I rammed my shoulder right into Lauren's.

"Bitch!" she shouted from behind me.

I ducked my head down the whole entire and kept walking.

I didn't even care that I was early to my next class I just didn't want to be here .

This was usually the time that I would wait by Angela's locker, but I thought it was best that I didn't. She probably wouldn't want to be seen with someone crazy anyways. I saw her in the hallway, but ignored her and ran straight into the classroom.

Luckily I had no more classes with Jessica or Lauren, but that didn't cause my paranoia to subside.

_I really need to stop worrying before I really do make myself crazy._

When lunch rolled around I knew there was no way I could sit at usual table, so I picked a table that was in the far corner away from everyone. I wanted to avoid sitting alone, but that seemed impossible now. I tried to tell myself that it was no big deal and that it had been this way before, but the lump in my throat was still there.

When I sat down, I got a view of my old table. Jessica and Lauren didn't seem to notice that I wasn't there anymore, as they talked and laughed to one another. Mike glanced at me a few times at me didn't seem to care either.

I caught a glimpse of Angela who looked slightly hurt when she saw me sitting by myself, but I pushed it away. It was just better this way.

"Sitting by yourself?" I jumped back in my chair and saw Edward sitting beside me.

"Wha-"

He placed his fingers over his lips. "I wouldn't talk if I were you." He looked over at my old table. "They're watching."

My cheeks flushed as I glanced over; they were indeed watching me. It was probably my chair skidding across the floor that drew their attention.

"Well, if you would stop scaring me," I mumbled.

"I really didn't mean to. I guess it just comes with what I am." A crooked smile crossed his lips. "So, why aren't you sitting with Angela?" he asked.

I shrugged a shoulder as I looked back up. No one was looking at me now, but I didn't want to chance it.

Edward seemed to see my dilemma. "Get out a piece of paper. You can write, while I talk," he suggested.

I pulled out a piece of paper and pencil.

"Why are you sitting here alone?" he asked.

I sighed and wrote a reply on the piece of paper. _Because I was seen in the parking lot talking to myself. _I wrote down bluntly. I moved the paper toward him so he could see what I had written.

Edward grimaced and nodded. "I should have known. I'm sorry about that." He seemed once again genuinely sorry. "If it helps I can make it up to you…"

I frowned and wrote, _What do you mean?_

He smiled wickedly which caused my heart to skip a beat. He looked at Jessica and Lauren. They were once again staring at me and whispering.

"People can be assholes," he said.

"I know." I blurted.

Edward chuckled beside me.

I looked over at him, his eyes shined as he smiled. I noticed that this was the closest that I had been to him. He was only a foot away from me and I could now see his eyes in more detail, there were little gold flakes in his irises and I even noticed a few freckles on his nose. He looked so unbelievably gorgeous. His smiled brightened up his features, making my heart soar.

_Why was he talking to me again?_

_Oh right, the whole ghost thing…_

"Bella?"

"Hmm?" I replied.

"I asked why Angela isn't sitting with you. She seems nice."

"Oh." I blushed and pulled out the piece of paper. I thought over my answer for a moment. Should I tell him that I don't want her to be pulled down with me?

_I just didn't want her to_, I wrote.

Edward read it and looked back at me and shook his head slightly. "Even when you're writing you are a terrible liar."

"Wha-" I stopped myself before I could say anymore. The last thing I needed was being caught talking to myself again. I took the paper and wrote, _What makes you think I'm lying?_

"You took far too long to answer and…" he paused as he scanned my eyes. "I can just tell," he muttered softly.

I knew there was something he wasn't saying, but I couldn't bring myself to ask.

I took the piece of paper and wrote my next question down.

"Are you going to keep following me around?" Edward read it aloud. His brow furrowed. "Why, am I that annoying?"

My heart sank slightly, worried that I had offended him. I took back the paper. _No, it's just that I was wondering and I thought that maybe you had better things to do or something. I mean I'm not the most exciting person ever. _Ifelt like I was rambling as I was writing. I had to stop myself before I wrote anymore.

He looked amused as he looked at the paper. "So you don't think I'm annoying?"

"No." I was about to shake my head, but stopped myself. It was nerve-racking talking to someone no one could see. I had to think twice about what I said or did. I whispered the next words, not feeling like writing them down. "But don't you have anything else to do?"

"Honestly, no," he shrugged. His eyes looked sad just like they had last night. This time however, it only lasted a second. He was looking back at my old table again. "Why did you even bother being friends with them anyway?" He changed the subject.

I wanted to ask him what he did with his time, but I had a feeling he didn't want to talk about it.

I put my pencil to the paper and thought about my answer. This time I decided to be honest.

_Because I wanted to fit in, I guess. _

He nodded knowingly and then again there was that sadness in his eyes. "Now that I know all too well. Trust me, it's not worth it. Like I said, people are assholes." He looked at them once again. "Especially those people."

And then, just like all the other times, Edward disappeared without warning.

I blinked a few times and felt annoyed.

_Did he have to keep doing that?!_

I sighed and turned back to my food on my tray as looked down at my food I noticed I didn't just feel annoyed, but disappointed as well. I actually kind of liked talking to him. It was nice not sitting by myself.

I picked up my sandwich and was about to take a bite when I heard a high-pitch scream echo through the cafeteria.

"Oh, my god!" Lauren was shrieking at the top of her lungs.

I looked up to see that she was covered head to toe in food.

"Did you do that on purpose?!" she yelled at Mike.

"I don't know what the hell you're talking about!" he snapped, outraged. "I didn't do anything!"

"You threw your food at me!" She accused, as she shook her hands at her side. She was covered head to toe in various foods. It didn't look like just Mike's food had been thrown at her, but the whole table's.

"Mike didn't do it, Lauren," Tyler said, looking bewildered as he looked at her and the table. "All the food just flew at you."

"Someone had to have thrown it, you retard!" She was whining as tried to comb the food from her hair. She stopped mid-way and her face paled. "Tell me that's not gum?!"

Jessica rose from her seat and looked closely at Lauren's hair. "It's gum."

Lauren tried to pick it out, but it only made it worse. "My hair!" she squealed.

Teachers began rushing over to see what was going on. They were trying to calm her down, but she just kept shouting about her hair and pointing at Mike.

"I swear, I didn't do it!" he shouted.

"Think she will look good with short hair?" asked Edward.

This time I didn't jump.

Edward was sitting beside me with a smirk on his face.

"What happened?" I asked him. It was safe to talk to him aloud. Everyone was too focused on Lauren's little tantrum to notice me.

"It seems all the food just magically jumped out at her, along with Jessica's gum, which happened to be sitting on her tray."

"Who threw it?"

Edward had that wicked grin on his face again and that's when it clicked. "You did it? Didn't you?" I gaped at him.

"Maybe?"

"You did!" I said, a little too loudly as a smile broke across my face.

He shrugged innocently as he leaned back in his seat, smiling smugly as he watched his handy work.

Everyone looked around puzzled at one another at the table accusing each other of throwing the food, but everyone denied it. I was worried for a second that they might blame Angela.

I found her no longer sitting at the table, but sitting with Emmett and Rosalie. She was laughing along with Emmett while Rosalie just rolled her eyes in disgust, but there was a slight smile on her lips.

I looked back at Lauren and also started laughing. The scene was by far the funniest thing I had ever witnessed. Lauren was jumping up and down as a teacher tried to examine the damage to her hair.

"Get it out, get it out!" she shouted, wailing her hands up and down.

"Hold still!" The teacher was scowling at her, frustrated.

"That's it, everyone to the office," Instructed another teacher.

"I don't have to go. Do I?" Mike asked.

"Yes, you too Newton. Let's go!"

"But I-"

"Go!" he roared.

Mike grumbled, glaring at Lauren as they walked out of the cafeteria.

I felt bad for Mike, but I couldn't stop laughing. It had been a long time since I had laughed this much. I had to clasp my hand over my mouth, so that no one would hear me.

I spoke when I finally managed to calm myself down. "That was mean," I told him between laughs.

"It's hair, it'll grow back. Plus she deserved it." He shrugged.

"Thank you," I whispered. The cafeteria had grown quieter. I didn't want to risk being heard.

He didn't say anything for awhile and I wondered if he even heard me.

"You should smile more, Bella. Life's too short."

-------------------------------------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**A/N: ****Review please! Tell me what you think... Good? Awesome? Horrible? **

**Questions? Comments? Concerns?**


	6. Chapter 6

**Thank you so much for all your reviews! =D Seriously you guys are amazing!**

**Disclaimer: All Twilight characters are owned by Stephenie Meyer.**

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

My laughing had died down at Edward's words. He looked sad as he sunk into his seat, watching Lauren and Mike exit the cafeteria.

I took the piece of paper and pencil in my hand. What are you thinking about?

I had a feeling I knew what was on his mind. After all, he had just talked about living and he obviously…well, wasn't.

Edward looked down at the paper and then looked up at me with a sad smile. "I'm thinking that you're taking this whole ghost thing pretty well."

I knew it was a lie, but I decided not to say anything. Instead, I pulled the piece of paper toward me once again and wrote. Do I have a choice? It was my attempt at teasing him.

"If you want, I can leave," he offered.

My heart sank, thinking that he had taken my joke seriously. I wrote a reply quickly, thinking that he would now probably disappear. _No! You can stay__. _I kind of liked having him around. Plus, after what he did to Lauren, he didn't seem like such a bad guy.

Edward smiled when he saw my note and leaned toward me. "Does that mean you like me?" he whispered, sounding hopeful.

I gulped, feeling his breath on my ear. I tried to move away from him slightly, uncomfortable by how close he was to me. It's not that I found Edward being so close to me weird, like I had with Mike; in fact it was the complete opposite. I really liked it, which was the problem.

My eyes scanned the cafeteria, wondering if anyone could see Edward so close to me. I pushed away the thought as quickly as it came. No one can see him, I reminded myself.

He chuckled at my attempt to move away from him and pulled back. "Sorry, I was only teasing you. I couldn't help it." He held his hands up as if to show he didn't mean any harm.

My thoughts suddenly went back to our conversation in my room- Edward couldn't touch anything for more than a few seconds and he couldn't actually touch another human at all. frowned, feeling disappointed.

The bell rang soon after, and people began to rise from their seats.

"I guess I will see you when you get home?" Edward asked.

"Uh, yeah," I replied.

"I promise I'll try not to scare you next time you see me."

"That'd be nice," I muttered to myself, but I am sure Edward heard me.

He began to rise from his seat and I followed him, shoving my books into my backpack. Just as I put the last book in and swung it over my shoulder, I lifted my head up to see if Edward was still there, but of course, like all the other times, he was gone.

I sighed and figured I should probably get used to it.

The rest of the day, all everyone talked about was Lauren's tantrum during lunch. I smiled, remembering her flailing her arms up and down as the teacher tried to pick out the gum from her hair. No doubt she would be needing a haircut after that.

Jessica, it turns out, wasn't too happy about Mike getting in trouble. Apparently he was suspended for three days for attempting to start a food fight. Some people even said they heard him shouting in the office, swearing that he hadn't caused it. The principal asked a few students if they had witnessed Mike actually throwing the food. Every single person said they weren't sure who really caused it, but since Lauren had accused Mike, they had no choice but to place the blame on him.

I felt bad for him, considering he hadn't actually done anything wrong, but I guess it couldn't have been helped. The real person who had done it could only be seen by me.

When school was finally over, I headed home. My mind was fixated on Edward; I wondered if he would be waiting on the porch for me, like he had been yesterday. After all, he did say he would see me again, but I guess that didn't mean it would be right away. He was probably busy doing something, right? After all, he had been wondering around for the last three years, he must have found something to do. Maybe he was out there somewhere hanging out with some other ghosts. I scoffed to myself, ghost friends? The whole idea seemed absurd, but it could be possible. Edward couldn't be the only ghost out there, could he? There had to be other people like him, people died all the time.

That's when it hit me.

Renee.

Could she be like Edward too? I wasn't sure if I liked the idea of Renee wandering around for the past two years alone. And if she were like him, why hadn't I seen her? Would she come and find me? Would she be able to find me?

As soon as I pulled into the driveway, I jumped out of my truck and rushed inside the house. I threw my backpack at the foot of the stairs and figured the first place to look for him would be in my room.

"What's the hurry?" I heard a familiar voice.

I halted to a stop just before putting my foot on the first step, spinning around to face the living room.

Edward was standing there, looking amused.

"Uh, hi," I said, blushing. I once again made myself look like an idiot.

"Hi."

"I… I was just actually going to look for you," I confessed, stuttering nervously.

"You were?" he asked curiously.

"Yeah…" Should I just ask him? Now that I had the chance to find out the truth, I was beginning to have second thoughts. If Renee were out there somewhere, wouldn't I have seen her by now? But then again, it's not like I was able to see ghosts up until Edward, so it might be possible that she could be out there, and for whatever reason, I wasn't able see her. Another thing, if indeed she were like him, wouldn't she have found me? Wouldn't she have come to visit me, to make sure that Charlie and I were doing alright? My brain seemed to be going a mile a minute, running with all kinds of possible what ifs.

"Is something wrong?" asked Edward, concerned.

"No, it's just that…" My heart was pounding in my ears. " Uh, I was… wondering…" if you have seen my mom? I couldn't get the last words out. My mouth went dry, and my stomach was twisting in knots. I clenched my hands at my sides, trying to calm myself down, but I couldn't. I was terrified, utterly and completely terrified. What if he said no? If he did, it would mean that I would never be able to see Renee again. I wasn't even sure if I wanted to see her again. It wasn't that I didn't miss her; I missed her all the time. It was just that I wouldn't know exactly what I would say to her. Would she blame me for what happened?

Memories of Renee sitting beside me in the wreck flashed through my mind.

_I was trying to get Renee's attention by shaking her slightly to make sure she was alright. "Mom, Mom?" She wasn't moving. __Why wasn't she moving?!__ "Mom!" I said a little louder. _

_There was just so much glass scattered on her lap. Her body was slumped to the side, and there were streams of blood dripping down her face. I was vaguely aware of the red and blue flashing lights and sirens that surrounded us. All I could see was Renee sitting there with blood dripping down her chin. _

_I felt the blood drain from my face as my mind raced to the worst possible scenario. I began to shake her more violently, trying to get her to show me some type of response that she was alright, but she still wasn't moving. _

_I felt someone wrap their hands around my arm, trying to pull me out of the car, but I refused to move, not until Renee showed me some type of sign that she was alright._

"_Mom!" I shouted more desperately, my voice shaking with sobs. "Mom, please answer me…" _

"Bella?" Edward frowned.

I closed my eyes tightly, willing the tears that threatened to spill over to go away. The last thing I wanted to do was cry right now. I swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat and took a deep breath. I hadn't thought about the accident in a while, and I certainly didn't want to now. Maybe this was a bad idea. If I was this upset at even thinking about asking him, how would I react when he answered me?

"Sorry, I zoned out for a minute," I explained, trying to make it seem like it was no big deal.

"What did you want to ask me?" He took a few steps closer toward me.

"Nothing, forget it. It was stupid." I shook my head. I didn't want to know, I decided. At least not now. I didn't think I could handle whatever he told me, whether it was yes or no. This is always what happen when it came to talking about Renee; memories always crept up me and I would almost always break down. I needed to stop thinking about it.

"Don't say that. Whatever you have to say, it isn't stupid," he said in a serious tone.

I was caught off guard by his tone. "Really, it was nothing," I tried to tell him, but he still didn't seem satisfied because he was scowling at me now. "Really, it's nothing!" I waved my hand at him, wishing he would just drop it. Now I was regretting even thinking about bringing it up. I should have kept it to myself or at least for a while. I wasn't ready to know, not now anyway.

I quickly racked my brain for something to say. I needed to distract myself with something else, before a Igive myself a panic attack. "Did you know Mike got suspended?" I blurted, feeling like a once again. _Great, Bella, really creative. _It was the first thing that came to mind.

"Mike got suspended?" Edward repeated slowly, confused. "Is that what you were wondering?"

"Yeah…" I lied. "See, I told you it was stupid." I tried to keep eye contact with him, it would seem like I was telling him the truth.

It didn't work completely, because he was still scowling at me, but he didn't press me any further.

"He did, huh?" he played along. "Well, I guess he got what he deserved." He sighed, sitting down on the couch.

I entered the living room and looked down at him. I was relieved that we had moved on to another subject, but now I was confused. "What do you mean?" I didn't remember Mike doing anything wrong. It was Jessica and Lauren who made my life a living hell at school.

"Like I said, all those people you sat with at lunch are assholes. I don't even know why you wasted your time trying to impress them," he scoffed.

"I sat with Angela too," I pointed out.

"She's fine, but the rest of them are idiots, especially that Mike guy." Edward said his name with a sour expression.

I bit back a smile when he made a face. "What's wrong with Mike?"

"He's a jackass," he said flatly.

"He's not so bad." I shrugged.

Edward rolled his eyes. "If you heard the things he was saying behind your back, I don't think you would say that."

"What does he say?" I asked curious. I always thought Mike was a pretty nice guy, even though he came on a little too strong, I didn't think he was that bad. Sure, he smiled way too much and was always in my personal space, but he was nice in his own way. Had I been wrong?

"Basically that he was going to be the first to sleep with you."

"Oh," I replied lamely. I guess it wasn't that surprising, after what Angela said about him on my first day of school. Still it hurt, to know that's all he cared about.

"I wouldn't take it to heart what he thinks. You shouldn't waste your time trying to impress them."

"I'm not trying to impress them."

"Oh, really?" he said in disbelief. "Then what was your first day of school telling all those lies? Talking about all your friends back in Chicago or telling them that lie about why you moved here in the first place?"

I stiffened. He knew about Renee. Of course he did. He had been sneaking around Charlie, apparently. Despite Charlie not wanting to talk about it, the subject must have come up. Renee and he did live here when they were younger. "How do you know?" How did he know about my first day of school?

"I was there, watching you." His eyes shifted away from mine, and I wondered if perhaps he was embarrassed to admit it. I doubted it; he seemed far too confident.

"You were?" I thought back to my first day of school, I didn't remember seeing him.

"You may be the only one who is able to see me, but you're not very observant."

"Why were you watching me?"

"I was curious to see who the new owners were. I didn't think my dad would ever sell this place. I was actually surprised that it was sold." He shrugged.

I frowned. "But I thought he was eager to get rid of it? That's what I heard, anyway."

"I wouldn't call turning down at least twenty offers eager." He laughed humorlessly. "My family loved this place. I didn't think they would ever get rid of it."

Billy was wrong? If Edward's dad had so many offers, why did he turn them down? I'm sure they probably would have offered more money for it than Charlie did. What made him sell it to us?

"Do you know why he sold it?"

"Yes," he replied, looking at the floor.

I waited for him to tell me more, but he just sat there, not saying anything. I was getting frustrated. I wasn't sure if I should press him for answers when he seemed so unwilling to give them, but I had to know. "Can you tell me why?"

"I could."

"Are you going to tell me?" I pressed further. There was a slight annoyance in my voice. I didn't try to hide it. I was getting annoyed; why didn't he just spit it out?

"It's not important." he said standing.

"If it's not important, why can't you tell me?" _What was the big secret? _

"Maybe later." He looked out the window "Your dad is home."

I followed his gaze and saw through the living room window that Charlie's police cruiser was sitting in the driveway. Just as I looked, I heard the front door slam shut.

"Hey, Bells," Charlie greeted as he shrugged off his coat. "Is someone here?" He glanced around the living room and looked right over Edward. If I had any doubts that anyone could see him other than me, they were gone now.

"Uh, no. Why?" My voice was slightly unsteady. I glanced at Edward, who was laughing at how nervous I had become. I was shifting on my feet and fumbling with the sleeve of my hoodie. Just because I knew that he couldn't be seen didn't calm my nerves.

"He can't see me," he said.

I know, but it's still weird, I wanted to say, but couldn't. Instead I gave him a glare, trying to show him it wasn't okay to talk to me in front of Charlie. I turned my back away from him, hoping if I couldn't see him that he wouldn't be able to distract me.

"I thought I heard you talking to someone." Charlie frowned.

"Yeah, I just got off the phone with Angela as soon as you walked in." Luckily the phone wasn't that far from me, so it did seem plausible.

"So you're making friends here?" He seemed hopeful.

I nodded. "Yeah."

His lips twitched into a smile. "You're liking it here then?"

I gave the best smile I could muster. "Yeah, I am."

"Why don't you tell him the truth?" Edward whispered beside me. I jumped slightly andwas worried for a second that Charlie would notice, but he was busy hanging up his coat in the closet.

"You know you don't have to lie to me-- if you don't like it here you can tell me," he said from the closet, but I could tell he didn't really mean it. He wanted me to tell him I liked it here, because it really meant a lot to him.

"Go on, tell him the truth," Edward urged.

I wanted to yell at him and tell him to mind his own business. What did he care anyways?

Instead I bit my lip and ignored him as best I could. "I know, but I really do like it here. It's not as bad as I thought it would be."

Charlie closed the closet door, and for the first time since Renee had died, he had a big, genuine smile. "I'm really glad."

"Yeah…" There was an awkward moment that always seemed to happen between us. We never really knew how to act around one another. It seemed like Charlie was debating on whether or not to give me a hug so I decided to speak up. "What would you like for dinner?" I asked, changing the subject.

Edward was next to me, shaking his head in disapproval.

"Anything is fine," Charlie replied.

I walked into the kitchen while Charlie headed into the living room, putting on the TV. "You don't have to cook, we can have pizza again," he called from the other room.

"No, Dad, I'll cook," I told him while looking through the fridge.

Edward leaned up against the counter, his arms crossed over his chest. Even though I was trying to look for something to eat, I couldn't stop staring at Edward out of the corner of my eye. "Would you stop staring at me?" I whispered harshly, feeling self-conscious.

"You should tell him the truth."

If I were to tell Charlie that I was unhappy here, I could only imagine the heart break that it would bring him. Naturally he would think it would be best to pack all our things and move back to our old home. "What do you care anyway?" I said, staring at the contents of the fridge, not daring to look at his face.

Edward reached over and shut the fridge door, forcing me to look at him.

"I don't," he said flatly.

"What then? Do you want us to leave? Because that's exactly what Charlie will do, if I tell him." I said, raising an eyebrow.

"Don't be ridiculous, I don't want you to leave," he replied harshly.

"You don't?" I asked, skeptical. _Well, that was unexpected. _

He looked toward the floor, staring at his feet. He seemed embarrassed as he confessed, "I've been alone for three years; it's nice to have someone to talk to finally. Makes me feel almost human again ..."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**I wasn't too happy about this chapter...I don't know**


End file.
